The Boy Next Door
by Hannahe93
Summary: Bella Swan just moved to Forks with her Mother and brother. She becomes best friends with her new neighbors fast, but holds a particular interest in their green-eyed son. All Human, original pairings
1. Chapter 1: Moving In

**A/N: Hey guys, here's my newest attempt at fanfiction! Hope you like it, REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW!**

**ALSO: I do not own any of the characters in Twilight, Stephenie Meyer does.**

**BPOV**

"Mom! Hurry up! Come on! Open the door already!" my brother Emmett yelled from the front steps of our new house. "Emmett, relax! If you want her to hurry up, the least you could do is come and help her with some of these boxes!" I yelled back up to him. I looked over to my mom, and I saw her smirking at Emmett and rolling her eyes.

"MMOOMM!", Emmett whined, running down the steps and grabbing some of the boxes out of my moms arms. I took the key from her, and opened the front door.

Inside, the house was a fairly nice house. It could use some paint jobs, but it was really cozy and had plenty of space. The first thing I did after putting my boxes down was run up to the second floor to scope out the room I wanted for myself. I walked into one that seemed comfortable. It had a nice sized closet, and the walls were painted a deep forest green. I loved this color. It had huge windows, which over looked the backyard and then some of the neighbors back yard. I noticed that outside the window was a shed. I slid the glass up, and carefully stepped out onto it.

It was a gorgeous day out. Not a cloud in the sky. I looked down, and it was about a 8 foot drop to the ground. Not bad, not bad at all. I already had plans of sneaking out this way to go out on those late night walks that I loved so much.

I was pulled out of my thoughts when I heard Emmett yelling for me from downstairs. I quickly climbed back inside and slid the door shut. I ran to the door and yelled, "FIRST ROOM ON THE RIGHT IS MINE!" loud enough for them to hear me, so that they don't try to steal it from me when I was bringing my stuff up. I walked downstairs to find my mother and my brother bringing in more boxes.

"Bella," my mom said, looking at me and motioning me out the door. "Help us bring stuff in. The faster we get all of it the faster you can unpack." I sighed and grabbed my coat. I walked outside and took a look around. It was a great neighborhood. It was peaceful, and everyone seemed to be really friendly. Compared to where we used to live, in a busy suburb of Chicago, this was perfect. Evanston was nice and all, but it was really busy and loud. I was really looking forward to the peace and calm that Forks had to offer.

I grabbed two boxes and started up the walk. Emmett saw me and took the boxes from me, and I headed back out to the car to grab some more. I pulled out my Ipod and put in my headphones, putting it on shuffle. When I skipped to a song that I wanted to listen to, I grabbed some more boxes, and again, Emmett took them from me when I got to the door. It was becoming a very effective routine. The song finished and started another. I started to sing along to the song that began playing, and Emmett took the boxes from me. There were just a few more, so he came out with me to help grab the rest.

We got all the boxes inside, and I grabbed three of the smaller ones that had my name on them, telling us that contained my stuff. I brought them upstairs and dropped them on the bed sitting in the middle of the room. I sat down, and turned off my Ipod. I walked up to the window again and looked out. Below me there was a boy that looked about my age reading under a huge tree in his backyard. I continued to watch him, when he looked up and saw me. I was startled, so I turned around to find Emmett walking into my room, looking around.

"Woah, what happened to you? You look like you just saw a ghost!" I turned around and looked out the window again, but the boy was gone. "You just startled me, don't worry about it" I told him, following him back downstairs. "Hey Bella, do you want to come scope out the town with me?" he asked me. "No thats alright. I think that i'm just going to stay here try to unpack some more before I do anything else. I have to get my stuff sorted out." He looked at me and shrugged, and headed out the door. I walked through the house, and saw my mom grab her purse and head for the door. "Bella, do you want anything at the store? We need to stock up!", she asked me. I told her to get the basic stuff: Some Coke, some chips, and some cereal. She left then, leaving me alone in the house. I walked upstairs to find all of my stuff on my floor, the moving people must have put them there.

I started to move my things around get some stuff on some shelves. I unpacked my clothes and put them in the closet, and looked through the boxes trying to find my books. When I found them, I grabbed one of my favorites, Wuthering Heights, and a blanket and headed to the window, climbing out onto the shed again. It was starting to get dark, and the lighting was perfect for me to read and relax. I laid out the blanket and grabbed my book, and lied down to read. It was really nice. I hadn't had time to myself in who knows how long. It started to get darker, so I went inside to get my Ipod.

After crawling back onto the shed, I put the songs on shuffle, and looked up at the sky. It was still gorgeous. I really hoped that every night would be like this. I stayed there for a while, until the sun went completely down. I was about to go back inside, when I heard door closing next door and looked to see where the noise came from. I didn't see anyone, so I closed my eyes and forgot that I was about to go back in. I heard someone approaching, and a velvety voice came from below me. "Hey." was all it said. I opened my eyes and looked down to find a pair of emerald green eyes looking back up at me.

**Ok! There was the first chapter. Hope you all enjoyed it! The second one will be up soon, I promise.**


	2. Chapter 2: Meeting the Cullens

**A/N: Ok guys, heres chapter two. It's a little rushed, so its probably not as good as the first chapter, but bear with me please. Ill make the other chapters better, I promise **

**BPOV:**

"Edward," the boy said, reaching up to shake hands with me. When I took his hand, I felt an electric shock run through us, but it didn't hurt, it actually felt good, like he was supposed to be holding my hand. "Bella," I replied smoothly, plastering a grin on my face.

Edward looked up at me, and gave me a crooked smile. I just now realized how completely breathtakingly beautiful he was. He had tousled bronze hair, and deep green eyes that if I didn't hold onto something, I would get lost in. He had perfect chiseled features, and he was pale. He looked like a god. A god that lived next door to me.

"So, you are my new neighbor. Its nice to meet you," he said, climbing up onto the shed to sit next to me. As I watched him climb up, I noticed his arm muscles flex under the sweater he was wearing, which hugged his perfectly muscular torso. My breath caught when he sat down next to me. "Right back at you," I said with a little humor in my voice.

He looked at me, took a deep breath, and said "Okay, let me cut to the Chase. My name is Edward Cullen, I am 17 years old and am a Junior at Forks High School. I have a twin sister, Alice, who I want you to meet soon, because you probably don't know a lot of people here yet. You should also meet my best friends Jasper and Rose Hale. Jasper is Alice's boyfriend. I play Piano, and I have an unhealthy obsession with music. My parent's names are Esme and Carlisle, and I'm sure that you'll love them." He spoke all of that so fast, that I had a hard time keeping up.

I laughed. Edward laughed with me, and I decided to give him my story too. "Well, My name is Isabella Swan, please call me Bella, though. I am also 17 years old, and I too will be a Junior at Forks High School, starting Monday. I have a Brother, Emmett, who is going to be a senior. We moved from Evanston, IL, which is a suburb of Chicago, and I too have an obsession over music that exceeds the normal music liking standards (said with heavy sarcasm). I play guitar, and I love reading." Edward nodded and we started to talk about everything from Books, to music, to school, to friends, and many, many more topics. I was really beginning to like this guy. He seemed to be down to earth, sweet, funny, and he had a great smile.

"So, you said that you play guitar?" He asked me, looking through my Ipod. "Yeah, I do. 3 years.", I responded, watching him scroll through my artists. "So I take it your good?" he asked, glancing up to look me in the eye. "Yeah, I guess so." He just smiled at that, and then his face got serious. "You'll have to let me be the judge of that, you know. Is your guitar unpacked yet?" I didn't pack it up, it was lying in it's case on my bed, so I told him to wait there while I got it, getting up and crawling through my window. Edward stood up, and put his hands on the windowpane, glancing into my disorderly room while I grabbed the guitar. I grabbed the case, opened it, taking out my guitar and a pick. I then crawled back out of the window, and sat back down. He asked me what I knew how to play while I tuned it. "I can play a lot of things," I responded with a smile. He smiled back, and poked my arm. "Lets hear it."

I positioned my guitar on my lap, and played a few chords to make sure that it was tuned right. I glanced up at him and smiled before beginning to play:

After all the jacks are in their boxes  
and the clowns have all gone to bed  
You can hear happiness staggering on down the street  
Footprints dressed in red  
and the wind whispers mary

A broom is drearily sweeping up the broken pieces of yesterdays life  
Somewhere a queen is weeping somewhere a king has no wife  
And the wind it cries mary

The traffic lights they turn of blue tomorrow  
And shine their emptiness down on my bed  
The tiny island sails downstream cause the life that lived is is dead  
And the wind screams mary

Will the wind ever remember the names it has blown in the past  
And with this crutch its old age and its wisdom  
It whispers no this will be the last  
And the wind cries mary

I ended the song, and felt a blush coming on. "Bella, that was beautiful," he said, with a serious look on his face. "Seriously, you're really good." I smiled and thanked him, placing my guitar back in my room. Just when I was about to sit back down, Edward pulled me up and climbed off the shed, waiting for me to climb off too. When I got to the ground he grabbed my hand and pulled it towards his house. "Come on, Bella. You should meet the rest of my family."

We were met at his door by a short pixie-like girl. She had a huge grin on her face, and looked like she was about to bounce of the walls. "OH MY GOD! You must be our new neighbor! Im Alice!" she said in a really exited, high pitched voice. She pulled me into a hug, and I hugged her back. "Nice to meet you," I said with a smile, and glanced at Edward, who was holding back a laugh. "Alice," he began, "Try not to scare Bella too much, she just got here!" Alice gave Edward a look, and looked back at me again, releasing me from a hug. "Bella, was that you playing the guitar and singing out there?" she asked, with a smile on her face. "Yeah, that was me" I sighed, and put my hands in my pockets. "You sounded really good. You should play me some more songs some other time, cause I really want to hear some!" I looked at her and smiled again, and she pulled me into their kitchen, where their parents were at the table. "Mom, Dad, This is Bella, our new neighbor," Edward said, walking in behind us. "Bella, what a pretty name! Its so nice to meet you, dear, I'm Esme", the woman said, getting up and pulling me into a hug. The man followed, and shook my hand. "Welcome to the neighborhood, Bella. I hope you'll enjoy Forks. My name is Carlisle." I smiled and thanked them, while they sat back down.

Edward took my hand and led me to the living room, where there were two people on the couch playing video games. One of them was a very handsome boy that looked about our age, and had dark blonde hair. Emmett was the other one on the couch, and when he heard us walk in, he looked at me and said "Bella! I see you've met the new neighbors too! Then the other boy looked at us, and got up to introduce himself. "Hello, Bella, I'm Jasper." I shook his hand, and sat down on the couch next to Emmett. Alice sat down in the seat next to the couch, and looked up. "Hey, where's Rose? She was just here." "She went up to your room," Jasper replied, completely immersed in the game with Emmett again. Alice stood up, grabbed my arm, and ran upstairs to a room that I guessed to be hers.

"Rose! This is Bella, my new neighbor. The three of us are going to be the best of friends!", Alice said, giving me another hug. Rose stood up, and walked over to me, with a smile and a hug. "Bella, that's a really pretty name." she said, as we all sat down. The next 15 minutes were taken up by Alice and Rose asking questions ranging from the type of music that I listen to, to my dating history. I filled them in on everything. I was having so much fun, that I lost track of time. When I looked at her clock, I noticed that it was getting late, and that I still needed to unpack and sort everything out, and that I should get going. They wanted to come over tomorrow and help me out, and I told them that I would really appreciate it. They walked me downstairs and hugged me again, and I said bye to everyone else. I was about to go when Edward stopped me, telling me to wait while he put on his coat. He was going to walk me and Emmett back home. "Edward, you don't have to do that, you know." I told him, when he walked towards the door. "Don't worry about it, Bella. I want to."

On the walk, he offered to help Emmett unpack tomorrow while the girls helped me, and Emmett accepted. Tomorrow was going to be fun.

I got ready for bed, unpacking my bed stuff, and cleared my room a little. I took a quick shower, and got in my pajamas. When I got into bed, I had a hard time falling asleep. My mind wandered, and I began to think about the Cullens. I was happy that I made new friends, and that Emmett did too. I looked around at all of the boxes in my room and sighed. Tomorrow was going to be busy. I closed my eyes, and fell asleep.

**Ok! Theres chapter two. Chapter three will be up in the next few days, I have loads of homework to get done before I even begin to work on it.**

**The song used in this chapter is The Wind Cries Mary by the great Jimi Hendrix. **


	3. Chapter 3: The Mall part 1

**Chapter Three! And here we go!**

**BPOV**

'_Early in the morning, risin' to the street._

_Light me up that cigarette and I strap shoes on my feet'_

This was what I heard when I woke up to the sound of my phone's alarm clock going off. Ah, sublime. The perfect band for the perfect feeling. I sighed. I was content.

Only one thing could bring me out my my peace, and that was Emmett hearing my alarm. "BELLA! YOUR FINALLY UP! HURRY UP AND GET READY, EVERYONES GOING TO BE HERE IN 15 MINUTES!" Ah, Emmett. I love him to death, he's my best friend, but sometimes he needs to learn when to SHUT UP.

I raised myself up with my elbows, and rubbed my eyes. I looked around the room, and sighed. There were boxes EVERYWHERE. I quickly threw the covers off of me, and stood up, stretching. I walked over to the bathroom and cleaned myself up, and went back to my room to find something comfortable to wear. I picked out my favorite Nirvana shirt, and some dark wash jeans with a studded belt. I threw on some green converse, and was set. I ran downstairs and put a poptart in the toaster, pouring myself some coffee. 'At least mom remembered to unpack the basics,' I thought to myself sitting down.

Not 30 seconds later, the doorbell rang. I grabbed my poptart, and put it in my mouth, breaking off a piece and walking over to the door.

Emmett beat me to the punch, of course. He bolted down the stairs, and opened the door to a waiting Alice, Rose, Jasper, and Edward. I said hi to them, forgetting that I had a mouthful of poptart, so Im sure that I sounded like a fool. Alice gave me a sideways glace while I stuck a finger up and finished chewing what I had in my mouth. Jasper snickered, and walked in, him and Edward following Emmett upstairs to Emmett's room.

I composed myself and lead Alice and Rose upstairs to my room, where they're eyes widened at all the boxes sprawled across my floor. "Wow, Bella, how much stuff does a person need?", Rose asked, looking through some of my boxes. "Enough to get by," I responded, sitting down and looking up at my ceiling.

"Bella, get up. The faster we get done here, the faster we can go shopping!", Alice chimed in, pulling me off my bed. "Shopping? When did we decide to go shopping?" I asked, confused. I HATED shopping. I have enough stuff already, I mean, just take a look at my room.

"Oh, come on Bella! It would be fun. Plus, the guys are going too, so we will all be able to spend some time together!" I gave in, and opened a box to find my books. I picked them out, and put them on the already installed shelves in my room, while Alice started unpacking and setting up my computer. Rose was helping me put stuff on the shelves.

Alice finished setting up my computer, and immediately opened my Itunes, looking for some music to play. "Jeez, Bella, you sure do have a lot of music…" she said, looking through my songs. "Yeah, music is pretty much my reason for existence," I replied. She finally settled on a song, and she went to my closet to see what I had. "Bella, what would you say your style is? I can show you some good shops today if you want," she said. I pointed to what I was wearing and said "this is pretty much my everyday look. Band tee, jeans, and converse." Alice looked me up and down and smirked. "Yeah, Im sure you'll like the mall here. Ever heard of a store called Hot Topic? Its about crawling with Band Tees." "THEY HAVE A HOT TOPIC HERE?!", I practically screamed. I loved Hot Topic. Some of the clothes were a bit…out there, but I got all of my band shirts and converse there. I was looking forward to shopping today, if It meant that I'd be able to see the selection here. I was scared that I was going to have to revert to ordering my clothes online.

Alice and Rose just laughed, and they nodded. They were so cool. I was really starting to like Forks.

I practically jumped when the song changed on my computer, and I went to blast the new song. It was No One Knows by Queens of the Stone Age. Classic. I was having so much fun. I started to sing with the song, but I didn't dance. Im a bit of a Klutz, and me dancing never ends up well. Besides, I wasn't going to show off my extreme white girl dancing in front of my new friends. Talk about scaring them off so soon!

We finished unpacking my stuff in record time. I piled all of the boxes next to the stairs, and walked into my room and looked around. There was so much more space now! I loved my new room.

"Hey Bella, have you considered repainting your walls? The dark green makes your room seem a little…dark…." I smiled at her, and shook my head. I loved the green. "Im not changing the color, the green is the reason I chose the room." I walked over and hugged the wall, earning a laugh from Alice. "Silly Bella. Have you thought about adding a design to the wall then? We can help, and make it look really nice. Maybe some gold floral designs." I thought about that. I loved green and gold together, it makes things seem so…vintage and cool. "That doesn't sound like such a bad idea, maybe later we can head to the store and get some gold paint and some stencils." We started to discuss what we were going to do to the walls when there was a knock at the door. I opened it, and the boys walked in.

"Wow, Bella. Nice room you got here," Jasper said, sitting on my bed next to Alice. "Are you guys ready to go?" Emmett said, walking to the door. "Yeah, just about." I turned off the computer, and followed everyone outside. Mine and Emmett's cars weren't getting here until later that day, we had to have them sent over, so we walked over to Edward's house and got into his car, a nice shiny silver Volvo.

I sat in the passenger seat next to Edward and Alice and Jasper got in the back. Emmett and Rose were going to take Rose's car.

Edward started the car, and the speakers turned on, playing an oddly familiar tune. "Clair de Lune?" I asked, nonchalantly, turning up the volume. "You know Debussy, Bella?" Edward asked, looking surprised. "Yeah, like I said, Music is practically my reason for existence. My mom played it all the time back in Evanston when she was going through her Classical phase. I only remember the names of my favorites, though." Edward looked back at the road, and I couldn't help but watch him. He smirked, and said "Its one of my favorites, too." I smiled and kept looking at him. He was even more beautiful in the sun.

**APOV**

Bella seemed to be really cool. I've only known her for what, a day? But I can already tell that we're going to be best friends. I just know these things, for some reason.

We got in the car, and I snuggled up to Jasper, and closed my eyes. Today was going to be really fun. Eventually I opened my eyes, and I caught Bella staring at Edward, with a smile on her face. I looked over at Edward, and he was looking out at the road, also with a smile on his face. I think that Edward likes her. You should have heard the things he was saying last night after they left. He thought that she was the coolest person on Earth, and he wouldn't stop talking about her!

If it wasn't about a joke Bella had told him, it was about him going to show her some of his favorite music today. They had very similar interests in music. I realized that when I was choosing a song to play today. I was thinking about how cute they were, when a thought struck me:

_They should go out! They are PERFECT for each other._

I was going to give them peace, though. If they do end up going out, I want it to be of their own accord, and since they just met, they need to figure out that they like each other by themselves. And of course I knew that they liked each other, based on the look of pure joy that Bella had when she saw Edward this morning, and the look of complete admiration that was in Edward's eyes while he was talking about her last night.

We got to the mall quickly, and we all got out of the car, watching Rose and Emmett pull in. They got out of her car looking really happy, and they were laughing. They walked over to us, and we all walked into the mall together. We went to the food court for lunch, then headed off to go shopping.

I looked over at Rose, who was smirking, looking at Emmett up and down with a look of approval on her face. I walked over to her, and began to look at Emmett too. "Is it just me, or is Emmett REALLY hot?" Rose whispered to me, still looking at him. "He's funny too," she added. I nudged her, and whispered "go for it." She grinned, and walked over to him. "Hey," she said, nonchalantly. "Hey," he replied, looking really happy that she was talking to him. "Want to walk around?" she said, and he nodded. They walked off leaving me, Jasper, Bella and Edward. I was suddenly struck with an Idea, and I pulled Jasper to the side, and told Bella and Edward that we were going to go walk around too, so Edward should show Bella around.

Bella had a sudden look of shock on her face, but then composed herself, trying to hide a smile, and blushing. She looked off to the side, and looked back at Edward, who was looking at her. "Sound good to you?" he said, with his cute little grin that left Bella speechless. She just nodded, and I smiled and pulled Jasper away, walking towards a little boutique.

I looked back, and Edward and Bella were talking and laughing, looking like they were having a great time. "Oh, Alice, what are you trying to do this time?" Jasper asked, smiling at me and kissing me on the cheek. "You'll see," I replied smoothly, pecking him on the lips and laughing. You'll see.

**Like It? **

**Ah, it seems as if Alice has a few tricks up her sleeve that we will have to look forward to, now won't we?**

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	4. Chapter 4: The Mall Part 2

**EPOV ( I thought I'd give this a chance)**

I'm going to have to thank Alice when I get home today. I don't know why, but I think that Bella Swan is one of the most interesting people that I have ever met. She's funny, sarcastic, talented, smart, beautiful, down to earth….WAIT. Did I just say beautiful? I guess I can't deny that, even though I just met her. She IS beautiful.

I thought that she was beautiful since the first time I laid eyes on her. There she was, up in her room, all alone, without knowing anyone here besides her family. I was going to go introduce myself at her door, but then I saw her on her shed, so I thought that that would have been a better way to do it. Forget formal, it was worth a few laughs. And I don't regret it one bit.

She was walking next to me, keeping a slow pace, watching her feet. I smirked. "What are you thinking about?" I asked her, she looked deep in thought.

"Oh, nothing of too much importance. Im just trying not to trip and fall on my face." I had to laugh at that. Silly Bella.

We kept walking, passing stores that didn't hold anything of too much interest. Then she stopped, and grabbed my arm, preventing me from continuing. I looked up at the store that we were in front of, and saw that it was a Borders. I remember that she told me she liked to read, so I lead her inside. We started to look around, and she picked up a few books that she wanted to get.

"What do you have there?" I asked, grabbing a book out of her hands, looking at her, then the cover. "Wuthering Heights" I stated simply, tossing the book back into her hands. "What?" she said, questioning. "Oh, nothing. I just didn't know you were into the classics". She looked at me, with one eyebrow raised. One beautiful eyebrow.

"Yeah, I like the classics. I prefer the classics, actually. Some modern stuff is good, but I find the classics more interesting." I couldn't believe it. She's so down to earth, I kept saying to myself. I felt like I NEED to learn more about her. I felt like I need to know EVERYTHING about her, and I wasn't going to feel right until I did. I grabbed the book out of her hands, and began to walk towards the counter. "Hey, what are you-" she said, but I stopped her. I smiled at her, and said "Im getting you your book". She looked at me wide eyed. "Edward, you don't have to-", but I quickly chimed in with "Bella, don't worry about it. I WANT to." She just stared at me, and averted her gaze. She looked down at her feet, and said "Oh." I looked at her, but was interrupted from my observing when the cashier announced that he would take the next person. I took Bella's arm, and led her to where the cashier was waiting. I paid for it, and together we left the store. I handed her the bag outside, and asked her if there was anything that she wanted to get or see.

Right when she was about to respond, I heard a high pitched, annoying voice screech out my name. Oh god. I know that voice, its- "EDWARD! Hey, Eddie. How are you?" the nasally voice of Lauren Mallory sounded from behind me. "Oh…who's your friend?" This time she sounded pissed. Shit. Just more jealousy from her. Poor Bella, hopefully Lauren won't torment her. "Oh, hey Lauren," I replied, trying to sound as nice as I could possibly be. "This is my new neighbor, Bella." Bella turned around, and held out her hand to shake, but Lauren just threw her a death glare, and composed her face to look at me again. I think I just died inside.

"Oh, Bella, how…nice…it is to meet you!" She gave Bella a fake smile, and turned back to me. "So…Eddy-kins, did you do the biology homework? There are some things that I don't quite understand on it. Maybe you could help me….?" she said, winking at me. Okay, yeah. I was dead. I was deceased, buried 6 feet under. "Um, no-not yet. If you have questions you should ask Mr. Banner. I mean, it is his job." I said that, and Lauren looked a little disappointed. She looked at Bella, and then glanced at me again. "Yeah, whatever. Ill see you guys tomorrow, I guess." With that, she walked off, returning to her friends who were waiting about 10 feet away.

"What did she mean, tomorrow?" Bella asked, looking confused. Then a wave of realization hit her, and she groaned. "School's tomorrow, isn't it." I tried to hold back a laugh, putting my hand to my mouth, and nodded. Bella closed her chocolaty eyes, and groaned again. "Bella, school isn't that bad, you know." She opened her eyes, and looked into mine. "I know, its just that its all extra unneeded attention." She started to sigh and walk off, and It didn't take me much of an effort to keep pace with her. We walked into another store, and saw Alice and Jasper in one of the Aisles. "Bella! Are you having fun!?" Alice shrieked, running over to us when she saw us, dragging Jasper behind her. "Yeah, Alice. I am," she said, smiling at me.

We got home a few hours, and a few stores later. Alice was super exited when we got back home. She bought so much stuff…it was a miracle that it all fit in my Volvo. We all agreed that we were going to ride together to school the next day, because I wanted to go with Bella to get her schedule.

When I went with Bella and Emmett to walk them home, Bella shrieked and ran up to a gorgeous sky blue Karman Ghia parked in front of her house (**A/N: Picture of car on profile).**There was a big red jeep next to it, which I took to be Emmett's car, because he looked ecstatic. I walked up to Bella's car, and whistled. "Those are some fine wheels, you got there, Bella", I told her, and she hugged me. "Thanks, Edward. This car is my baby. My dad's hobby was restoring old cars, and he gave her to me before he died." Bella looked at the car with loving eyes. She must have loved her father a lot, because it was hard to get her to go into the house. Bella, it's late, and the car will be there tomorrow, Bella's mom yelled from the door. Bella said goodnight to me, and walked up to the walk.

Emmett came up to me, and we began to talk a little. "So Em, what happened to your dad?", I asked out of curiosity. A really sullen look appeared on his face, and I immediately regretted asking. Emmett took a deep breath, and leaned against the tree in his front yard.

"Charlie, our dad, was the police chief in Evanston. He was the coolest dad around. He loved us more than anything. Like Bella said, he restored old cars for a hobby. That sounds pretty cool to me, if I do say so myself. Anyways, one day, while Bella and I were at school, there was a code yellow. We went to a HUGE high school, really busy, kind of around a bad neighborhood, so we were used to the occasional code red now and then, but those were always only pranks or drills. This one felt different. Anyways, we were under lockdown. We heard a bunch of cop cars around the block, head to the street corner on our side of the school. Then we heard some gunshots. My class just sat in our desks, petrified. Then, about 2 minutes after that, there was announcement over the loud speaker that Bella and I needed to go down to the main office. On my way down, I passed security guards with sympathetic looks on their faces. I put two and two together. I mean, really, we hear COP cars, Charlie was a cop. We hear gunshots. Bella and I get called down. Something happened to Charlie.

"As it ended up, Charlie got a call about a domestic disturbance at a small house across the street from the school. He arrived at the scene with some other cops, and the man that caused the disturbance must have gotten really angry, because the next thing they knew, he was shooting at them. The man shot Charlie in the stomach twice, and then ended up getting shot dead by another cop.

"My mother alone could not afford us living there anymore, so she got a new job, and we moved here. Bella took it really hard. It happened about 5 months ago, so she's just now able to get over it, but I think that she still needs some time. I know I do."

I just stared. I couldn't think of anything to say to that.

"Oh, god, Emmett. I am so sorry. I had no Idea."

Edward, don't worry about it. You were bound to find out sooner or later, but now you know. Do me a favor, please, and don't talk to Bella about it. She's just now starting to get happy again, and I don't want to see her sad anymore." I just nodded, and he thanked me and went inside.

Bella was officially the most interesting thing in my life. How she could deal with her fathers death, a new house, having to make new friends from scratch, and start at a new school so easily was mind boggling. I would be huddled in a corner never to come out if I were in her shoes.

I have come to a decision. We are going to be the best friends that Emmett and Bella have EVER known. They deserve it.

**A/N:**

**I know that the ending was a bit sad, but I couldn't think of anything else that would explain why Charlie wasn't in the story, other than a bitter divorce, but I though that this would make the story more interesting. **

**This actually happened at my school a few weeks ago, but no one died. It happened exactly how it sounded, but with some minor exceptions: **

**1. There was a code yellow, but they didn't tell us, because the school didn't want to scare us.**

**2.The cop and the man that shot the cop, and ended up getting shot himself didn't die, but they were both in critical condition. **

**It was scary. **

**But any who, there was the fourth chapter! I've been updating a lot faster than I originally thought that I would be able to, but once I start a chapter, I feel like I HAVE to finish it. It probably won't be as fast next time, but don't worry, the next chapter will be up within the next few days.**

**And, as always, don't forget to REVIEW!**


	5. Chapter 5: First Day

**BPOV:**

I woke up the next morning feeling fully energetic and ready to start the day, which was surprising because I am NOT a morning person at all. I got up and practically ran to the bathroom, getting my morning routine done as quick as possible.

I finished in the bathroom, and walked to my room. I went my closet and picked out a comfortable outfit which consisted of a cute band shirt and some black skinny jeans. I also grabbed my converse. I picked up my backpack, and ran downstairs. I found Emmett and my mom in the kitchen, and sat down at the table, turning on the TV to watch the news.

My mom gave me a plate of Pancakes, and poured me some coffee. I sparked up a conversation with Emmett, asking him if he was looking forward to school today. He got extremely exited all of a sudden, and told me that he was picking Rose up from school. "Bella, she is seriously one of the coolest people that I know. She's just so fun to talk to, and well, I know that this sounds pretty bad, and believe me, this is definitely NOT the reason that I like her, even though it is a plus, but she really isn't that bad to look at either." I laughed, and smacked him on the arm playfully. "Awwww, it sounds like Emmie's got a wittle cwush!" I mocked. He looked almost offended, and practically yelled "So what if I do?!" Then we both burst out laughing. Our mom looked at us like we were crazy, which made us laugh even harder. I told Emmett that he should ask her out if he liked her so much, and he thought it was a great idea, he was just going to wait a little bit, get to know her some more. Emmett was really playful, but he was really sweet too. He was always looking out for the people around him, which made me love him even more. He was my big teddy bear!

When it was time to leave for school, the doorbell rang. I grabbed my stuff and walked to the door to find an eager and awaiting Edward on my front steps. "Hey, Bells. Ready to go?" I nodded, and turned to say bye to my mom. I grabbed my keys, and pulled Edward to my car. "Lets take her today, if you don't mind. I've missed her so much!" I ran to the drivers side, and unlocked the doors. Edward got in the passenger seat and whistled. "Bella, this is a GREAT car. Im actually a little jealous!" I turned on the radio, and when we heard what was playing, we both looked at each other and grinned childishly. I blasted the radio, and drove off. We spent the entire drive singing along to Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody, one of my favorite songs. When the song ended, the radio station cut to commercial, so Edward changed the station. When he settled on something we both liked, I couldn't help but look over at him. He was sitting there smiling, looking out the window. I know that this was a little early to start thinking about, but I think that I might like him. It's just a thought, and its probably not even true, but I couldn't help but feel content with that thought. It wasn't a weird feeling, it was sort of relaxing. I felt happy. I was pulled out of my thoughts when Edward told me that I just missed the turn to the school. I mentally kicked myself. Wow. Smooth Bella, screwing up in front of the guy that may or may not like. Genius. I quickly turned around, and when we made the turn, Edward started asking me questions about my life back in Evanston. I told him about how all of my family still lives there, and I also told him about all of the friends that I had to leave behind. He assured me that I was going to make a lot of new friends here, and that even though my life was left back in Evanston, it's like I'm getting a clean start. I nodded, and pulled into a parking space. We got out, and he came around to my side, grabbing my arm and pulling me towards the school. I looked up at the big red-brick school, and sighed. The school wasn't as big as Evanston High School (which by the way is the largest single building high school in the nation), but it's students were probably much harsher. Everyone in this school has probably known eachother since kindergarten, and I felt like an intruder of sorts. It wasn't a comfortable feeling, but Edward continued to reassure me that everything was going to be fine, so that gives me a little comfort.

We walked to the secretary's office quickly, I wanted to get out of the hallways fast. Everyone was staring at me, trying to get a good look of the 'new girl'. Edward told me to wait here and get my schedule while he went to his locker, telling me that he'll meet me back there in a couple minutes.

I walked into the main office, and there were a few people waiting to talk to the secretary. I sat down on the couch, and pulled out my Ipod. I looked around the room, and took note of all the small detalis. The room reeked of febreeze, and some kid was in the seat next to me, asleep. The secretary looked at me, and pulled me out of my thoughts. "May I help you, dear?" I stood up, throwing my backpack on my back, and pausing my music. I walked over to the desk. There was a name plate in front of her that read 'Ms. Cope'. I looked up at the woman, and said "Yeah, thanks. My name is Isabella Swan, it's my first day here." A look of recognition swept across her face, and she leaned down to look for something. "Of course, here you are," she said, handing me a manilla envelope. "Here's some of the basic information that you may need to know, some important numbers that are good to have as well. Your schedule is in there, too. Get this sheet signed by all of your teachers, and bring it back here at the end of the day." She smiled at me, and I thanked her, turning around to find Edward leaning in the doorway.

When I reached him, he grabbed the envelope out of my hands and opened my schedule. A grin spread across his face, and he told me that we had biology together. That's good, at least I know someone in one of my classes. We heard another bell ring, and Edward walked me to my first class, Algebra 2. He left me at the door, and began to walk back out, telling me that he'll see me at lunch. I waved, and entered the room.

The class was almost filled, and almost everyone in the room had their eyes on me. I felt myself blush as I walked over to the teacher, Mrs. Consiglio, and handed her the sheet that I was supposed to get signed. More people had entered by now, and class was about to begin. She sent me to an empty desk next to two girls that looked nice enough. I sat down, and pulled out a sheet of paper to take some notes.

"Hey, I'm Angela." One of the girls said to me, smiling. This was nice. No one had introduced themselves yet today, and it was nice to be able to look forward to a warm and friendly face in the morning. "Bella," I said, smiling. The other girl looked at me, and turned away again, looking uninterested. Angela shot her a look, and smacked her on the arm. "This is Jessica, Bella." She said, smiling at me, and shooting Jessica a death glare. "Don't worry about her, she's just jealous of you." I laughed, and said "Jealous? Why would she be jealous?" "Well, you see, Bella, I have no idea as to why she would be acting like this other than jealousy, and I have a pretty good idea that it's because of Cullen." Cullen? Who's Cullen? Oh, Edward, that's right. "You mean Edward?" Angela nodded, and Jessica turned around. "You seem to be warmed up to him pretty nicely, Bella." The look she gave me when she said this was a mix of annoyance and anger. Maybe she was jealous..."Well, he IS my neighbor,"I told her sarcastically. "Well, still. It's not fair that I had to wait 3 months for him to even notice my existance, and he still doesn't even talk to me." She turned back around and huffed, and angela passed me a note that said 'Don't listen to her. Again, she's just jealous, but she'll come around. She just has a little crush on him, like every other girl in this school. She is always telling me how 'He's just too hot for his own good''. I had to laugh at this. Angela winked at me, and turned to listen to the teacher. When she was done with her lesson, I poked angela and said "Thanks for letting me know that, ill probably have to look forward to some similar reactions today".

I said that as the bell rang. I got up and left the room, walking towards my next class, English. I walked in, and Alice practically screamed. "BELLA! WE HAVE ENGLISH! YESSSSSSSSS!" I sat down next to her, and we talked until class started.

The teacher walked in, and he sat down in his desk. I walked up and gave him the sheet, and I sat back down. This is pretty much how the day went.

Lunch came fast, and I sat with the Cullen's and Emmett. Edward talked to me about my day, and we talked more about music. Alice joined in eventually, and decided that I needed to come over later so that we could watch some movies and do homework. I was more than willing. Halloween was coming up, so I thought that this would be a great time to watch my favorite horror movie of all time. I just hope that everyone would be in the mood for it.

The next class that I had was biology. The teacher, Mr. Banner sent me to sit in the back, next to an ecstatic boy with short, gelled up blonde hair. He introduced himself as Mike Newton, and we began to talk. Throughout the conversation, he tried to flirt, but failed at it. I noticed that Edward was sitting in the front, sitting next to Angela, who was also in our class. Mike was nice and all, but he seemed to be a little clingy. He wanted to learn EVERYTHING about me. When class started, he passed me a note saying 'This town can be pretty fun if you have the right guide. Interested? Friday maybe?' This seemed as good a time as any to make new friends, so I told him Id think about it and let him know later. I didn't want to accept right away if I changed my mind. The period went really fast. I was already taught what we were learning, the anatomy of an Animal cell. I just sat there and doodled on my notes, not really paying any attention to what we were doing. At the end of class, I started to pack up, and looked up to see Edward in front of my desk. "Hey, you." I said getting up, giving him a small punch on the arm. He just gave me a crooked grin and pulled me out of the room. "Let's get out of here", he said as he pulled me.

We got into my car, and I began to drive. "So, what movies are we going to watch tonight?" I asked him. Knowing Alice, it's probably going to be some sappy chick flick that Im not going to be very comfortable watching in Edward's presence, so I wanted to ready myself. "I have no idea. Any suggestions?" I thought that this would be a good time to remember the movie that i thought about at lunch, so I blurted out "The Silence of the Lambs". Edward looked at me wide eyed, and I couldn't tell what the emotion on his face was.

"You WANT to watch that?" He asked, still shocked. I nodded, and got a sick grin on my face. "What, little Eddie's going to get too scared?" He laughed, and gave me a small smile. "No, I'm not going to get scared, because I know that you will be there to save me if any genius cannibals come jumping out of the screen at me." "Yep," I replied. "You will be safe with me." He smiled and grabbed my hand, holding it close to his heart. "Thats good to know."

When he grabbed my hand, my heart skipped a beat. There was that shock again. My breathing shallowed, and I could sware that his did too. He held my hand for the entire ride home.

We parked in front of my house, and we went up to my room to find the movie. We grabbed it, and I hooked up my Ipod to charge while Edward sat on my bed. "Bella, this really is a nice room." He stood up and looked at my book/music shelves. He complimented my collection and glanced over at my guitar. He picked it up, and handed it to me. "Play me something else." I gave him a look, and picked up my guitar. I went over and sat on the bed, and began to play.

_The leaves are falling all around_

_Time, I was on my way_

_Thanks to you im much abliged_

_Such a pleasant stay_

_But now its time for me to go_

_The autumn lights my way_

_But now I smell the rain_

_And with it pain_

_And its heading my way_

_Aw sometimes I grow so tired_

_But I know I got one thing I gotta do_

_Ramble on_

_Nows the time, the time is now._

_Sing my song_

_Im going around the world, I gotta find my girl_

_On my way_

_Ive been this way ten years to the day_

_I gotta ramble on_

_I gotta find the queen of all my dreams_

I was about to play more when Alice and Rose walked into my room, and both of their eyes widened when they saw that Edward was with me. "Oh, sorry guys. We didn't realize that you were here, Edward. Sorry." With that they tried to leave, but I stopped them. "No, its fine guys. We were just about to go anyways. I actually just came to grab the movie." I held it up for them to see, and Alice practically fainted. "We are going to watch THAT?!", Rose asked, seeming strangely happy with the decision. "I really want to see it", I whined, holding it against my chest, and giving Alice puppy dog eyes, waiting for her approval.

"Fine, Bella. But you owe us." Alice gave me an evil grin, and after putting my guitar away, we all walked back to their house to meet Emmett and Jasper.

**A/N:**

**Okay, there was chapter 5! I do hope that you all liked it.**

**Chapter 6 will be up soon, I promise. I have some great ideas in mind for the coming chapters that im sure will have you all on the edge of your seats. So, if you read the story and think that it's going nowhere, trust me, you won't be dissapointed later. **

**The partial song in this chapter was Ramble On by Led Zeppelin. **


	6. Ch6:Movies, Sleepovers,and Realizations

**APOV:**

When Bella picked up that movie, I practically fainted. "Were going to watch THAT?!", Rosalie asked, looking annoyingly smug about Bella's choice. I threw her a death glare and she just laughed.

I had to give in though, because I saw the look on Edward's face when she told us it was one of her favorites, which I don't understand because its just so…GRUESOME. I can't even imagine the thoughts running through his head when she said this. Probably a ton out of pure admiration, because he was IN LOVE with classic horror films, such as 'The Silence of the Lambs'. It's official: They now officially belong together. They are PERFECT for each other.

Here's the thing though: I think that they know that. I think that they both realize the chemistry that they share, and by the way that Edwards face lights up whenever Bella walks into the room, or even if her name is mentioned, I think that he has it bad. Im going to have to get down to the bottom of Bella's case, though, because she's a bit more hard to read. I can usually predict what sorts of things tend to happen, but I need a little more insight on what goes on in that cute little mind of hers. This movie was the perfect opportunity. I was going to watch their every step, and see how they interact. I was going to make them sit next to each other during the movie, and see how they react. I was going to talk to them individually and see what they think of the other person, and then, not today, but hopefully sometime in the near future, I am going to try to set them up.

The four of us walked back to my house then, and we all gathered in the living room. I put the movie in, and ran to the kitchen to make some popcorn while the previews were playing. When the popcorn was done, I walked back into the living room to find Bella and Edward already sitting on the couch together, deep in conversation. I sat next to Jasper, and snuggled into his chest, shoving a mouthful of popcorn into my mouth. I heard Emmett gasp when he saw that there was food, and he yelled out "Hey Alice, throw me some!" I knew that he meant that I pass him the bowl, but I felt like playing around, so I took a handful, and threw it at him. Rosalie was next to him, so not only did he get covered in it, but she did as well. His and Rosalie's mouth flew open, shocked that I would throw food at them, then Rosalie laughed, picked a piece out of his hair, and popped it into her mouth. Emmett stared at her dazed, and pulled her into a hug. I didn't need to have to hook the two of them up, they were already there. They look and acted like a couple already, his arm was around her shoulder, and she was smiling a HUGE smile up at him.

The movie started, and we all got quiet. I HATE scary movies. With a passion. Therefore, Jasper had to keep me safe throughout, which I'm sure that he didn't have a problem with. When I got scared, I closed my eyes and hid in his chest, and he just hugged me tight and kissed the top of my head. I was having a blast. I looked up at Edward and Bella, and Bella was staring intently at the screen. Edward, on the other hand, was staring intently at her. She looked at him, and he smiled and turned to watch the movie. Even though the light wasn't on, I could tell that Bella was blushing like crazy.

When the scene came when Hannibal Lecter escaped from his cell, I couldn't handle looking at the screen. I looked around the room, and I couldn't believe what I saw. Rosalie and Emmett were locked in an intense make-out session, and by the looks of it, they were pretty hot and heavy. I looked at Bella and Edward, and they were just as out of it as Jasper and I were, so they had no idea of what was going on with Emmett and Rose, either. I cleared my throat, and every head in the room shot up and looked at me. "Emmett and Rose, if you're going to do that, please go somewhere else, because I would rather not make the choice of having to watch a crazy cannibal wear another man's bloody face as a mask, or my two best friends going at each other like wild dogs. Bella's eyes grew wide, and she looked over at Emmett and Rose, who looked extremely embarrassed. Rose whispered something in Emmett's ear, and his eyes got HUGE. She stood up, grabbed his arm, and ran into the kitchen. We were all staring after them dumbfounded by what just happened, and then we all began to watch the movie again.

The movie ended about 30 minutes later, so we all began to do our homework, or trying to at least. The four of us were all getting sidetracked, talking about how Halloween was coming up the following week. I was going to throw a party. This meant that this weekend, all of us needed to go find some costumes…which of course meant SHOPPING!

**BPOV:**

The movie night was awesome. I was able to bond with everyone some more, and I had a great time. I actually got most of my homework done, which was a HUGE feat in my case. I was really distracted most of the night.

Alice told me that every year she throws a Halloween party, and that we needed to go shopping this weekend to look for some costumes. I came up with a great idea: A themed party. I also came up with a theme: 1920's Chic Ball. We were going to have all of the guests dress up in clothing from the 1920's, and well, have a ball!

When the weekend arrived, the three of us (Alice, Rose and I) all jumped in my car, and sped off towards the mall. The mall didn't really have that many flapper choices, all of the costumes it had were a bit sexy for an authentic ball. Rosalie remembered a small thrift store in Port Angeles that would have some dresses and authentic jewelry, so we sped off to check it out. Sure enough, we all found perfect dresses. I even found a wig to match the flapper style.

Alice let the boys pick out their own outfits, but warned them that if they didn't dress like they were from the 20's, that they weren't allowed to attend the party and that we would all have to dance with all of the other happy males that dressed the part that would be more than happy to dance with us. It was meant as a joke, but when she told them that, a look of jealousy spread across Edwards face for a moment, and he looked at me, straightening out his facial features again. Was he jealous by the thought of me dancing with someone else? That made me feel butterflies in my stomach. To tell you the truth, I wouldn't have wanted to dance with any other guys. I barely know any here other than Emmett, Jasper, Edward and Mike Newton, who was being relentless on taking me out Friday night. He was really starting to get aggravating.

Halloween was Sunday. It was Saturday. Rose came over to my house for a sleepover, and Emmett was more than happy about that. They barely got to see each other since the movie night when their lips were practically glued together, so I was a little scared that Rose would be occupied by him all night. She spent most of her time with me, strangely enough. We talked about everything, and I played more songs for her on my guitar.

"Bella, can I ask you something?" Rose asked, looking out my window. "Sure Rose, shoot." She looked at me, blushed, and looked away. "Well, I kind of really like your brother. A lot. And I was wondering if you would be okay with me asking him out? Its just cause your, well, both his sister and one of my best friends. I wouldn't want things to be weird between-", but I cut her off mid sentence. "Rosalie Hale. What kind of question is that? Look. You are one of my best friends, too. Therefore, I look out for you and support the things that make you happy. Also my brother. And do you know how happy he is when he's with you? He is practically jumping off walls. I see the way you look at each other. And I think that you would have asked him out anyways, what with you two practically sucking each other's faces off the other day." She laughed and gave me a huge hug. A look of wonder passed in her eyes, and she stood up, and ran out of my room. I was taken completely by surprise by that, and got up to follow her. I found her running down the hallway towards Emmett's room, where she barged in, ran over to his bed where he was lounging listening to some music. He was startled by this, and barely had enough time to hoist himself up into a sitting position before Rosalie was kissing him hard on the mouth.

I stared wide-eyed, and thought that I would give the two love birds some privacy. I walked back into my room, and called Alice, informing her of what had just happened. She thought that it was great, and that she knew that it would have been a matter of time. She had to go, though, because Jasper was taking her out to dinner, so she had to get ready. We hung up, and I walked around my room looking for something to keep me occupied while Rose was with Emmett. I remembered that my dad gave me his old Record Player for my birthday last year, so I ran to the basement looking for the box that contained it and all of my Vinyl. I brought the box upstairs and began to set it up. Rose came back, with a huge grin plastered on her face. "We're officially boyfriend and girlfriend now." She said this while getting up on my bed, and jumping up and down. "BELLA! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT!" She jumped off, and practically ambushed me with a hug, and I hugged her right back. "How did I know that this would happen? Rose, Im so happy for you!" I grabbed one of my records, and set it up, tossing the case on the bed.

_Waiting for the break of day_

_Searching for something to say_

_Dancing lights against the sky_

_Giving up I close my eyes_

_Sitting cross leg on the floor_

_25 or 6 to 4_

_Staring blindly into space_

_Getting up to splash my face_

_Wanting just to stay awake_

_Wondering how much I can take_

_Should have tried to do some more_

_25 or 6 to 4_

_Feeling like I ought to sleep_

_Spinning room is sinking deep_

_Searching for something to say_

_Waiting for the break of day_

_25 or 6 to 4_

_25 or 6 to 4_

I was singing and dancing along to the music, and surprisingly enough, Rose joined. "SINCE WHEN DID YOU LIKE CHICAGO?" I yelled over the music, still dancing, and tripping, falling onto my bed. Rose laughed, and fell next to me. "I actually love Chicago," she answered. I gave her a huge hug, and told her that she was seriously the coolest person ever. She got up when the song ended, and chose another record to play. She chose The Cure, and sat back down on the bed with me. I spread out my albums, and we sorted through them, talking about them and joking around.

I was having such a great time with her, that I lost track of time. It was about 1 in the morning when I checked what time it was. We headed off to bed after, and Rose fell asleep fast. I, on the other hand, couldn't fall asleep. I just laid next to Rosalie, looking up at my ceiling, when I heard some tapping at my window, which scared the hell out me. I literally jumped, and I fell off my bed.

**EPOV:**

Bella jumped when she heard me tapping, and she fell out of her bed. I had to try really hard to contain my laughter, trying not to get her mad at me. She came over to my window, and when she saw that it was me, she froze, and approached the window cautiously. She undid the latch, and opened it. "Edward? What the HELL are you doing here? Its 2 in the morning! Shouldn't you be asleep?" I just laughed, and hushed her, pointing to Rose's stirring form. "I couldn't sleep, and I could be asking you the same question." She looked to Rose, and looked back at me. She slowly climbed out of her window, and turned to look at me. She looked beautiful. She had a small case of bed head, and she looked tired. She had small bags under her eyes giving her a messy look. Bella was gorgeous. I know what you may be thinking, Edward must be some sort of freak for thinking about his best friend like that, but I really can't help it. She was magnificent. Everything about her was. I loved everything about her. She was just so unique and down to earth. She was so chill, and she just went with everything. Seeing her like this just stirred my thoughts, and the weird feelings that I felt whenever I saw her were falling into place. **I like her. **A lot. More than a lot, actually. I have never liked a girl this much before.

Bella just stared at me wide-eyed, and I couldn't help but laugh at that. "What, no guy has ever knocked on your window at 2 in the morning before?" She frowned, and looked up at the sky. "Edward, why are you here?" she asked blandly. "I wanted to see you," I replied smoothly, and she shot her gaze at me once again, with a look of questioning in her eyes. "You wanted to _see me?_" she asked, narrowing her eyes. I got a little scared for a second, wondering if she was mad at me. "What are you, some deranged sort of peeping tom?", she asked, glaring at me. I got really scared. 'Oh god,' I thought to myself. 'What if she hates me now? What if she thinks that I do this every night, come to her window to see if she's up?' Her face softened when she saw the fear in my face, and she laughed. "Edward, don't worry. I was kidding." A feeling of relief washed through me. Ah, Bella's wonderful sense of humor. I should have seen that one coming.

We just sat there on her shed for a while, and she fell asleep on my shoulder. I looked at her, and almost fainted. She was so close to me, that she began breathing down my neck, making me shudder. I picked her up, and carried her through her window, tucking her in besides Rosalie. I looked down at her sleeping form, and smiled. After a few minutes of making sure she was comfortable, I climbed out of her window and closed it, jumping off her shed and heading back towards my house. I walked into my room to find a curious Alice waiting for me.

"Where did YOU go?" she asked, standing up and crossing her arms. "Relax, Alice. I was with Bella." She looked shocked for a moment, then sat down on my couch. "Bella? Where did you guys go?" She looked at me curiously, and smirked. "Alice, don't worry. We were just on her shed. I couldn't sleep, so I went to see if she was awake or not." She jumped off the couch, and ran over to hug me. "Edward, you like Bella, don't you?" I looked down at her, and her eyes were sparkling with excitement. I nodded a little, and before I knew it, I was being crushed in one of her surprisingly strong hugs.

She squealed, and smiled up at me. "Edward, that's SO great! Im exhausted right now, but later today, your going to tell me ALL of the details concerning this. Got it?" I just laughed, and nodded again, watching her leave.

I fell asleep, and dreamt about Bella.

**A/N:**

**Chapter 6, everyone!**

**First off, I would like to thank everybody for the wonderful reviews that this story is getting. They just motivate me to write more, and update sooner!**

**I had the idea about the party theme from MY halloween costume, and If you can't guess what Im being from that little clue, I'm a flapper girl. **

**Since Halloween is friday, I thought that I should throw in something that has to do with the wonderful holiday. **

**And in the spirit of Old Hallows' Eve, I would like to wish who ever is reading this a HAPPY HALLOWEEN!**

**The song in the chapter is 25 or 6 to 4 by Chicago. **

**The next update will be the Party, and I will put it up on Friday. **

**I have pictures of Bella's, Alice's, and Rosalie's dresses on my profile, if anyone is interested in seeing them.**


	7. Chapter 7: Halloween

**BPOV:**

Halloween. Otherwise known as Old Hallows' Eve. Also known as the day of Alice's party.

I woke up late today, with Rose still sleeping beside me. I sighed, and rolled myself around to face the clock, and I saw that it was about 11. I slowly rubbed my eyes, and threw the covers off of us, gaining a sigh from Rose. We stood up and stretched, and we both realized how ridiculous we looked. Bed head, old shirts, we were a mess. That was soon taken care of when Alice came over, and after eating some breakfast, the three of us headed over to Rose's house to get ready for the party later.

The party started at 5, so we could have the main attraction around twilight. Alice hired some good bands, ones that were willing to play some songs that weren't too modern, and some songs that fit the era. She also had a huge sound system that we were hopefully going to put to some good use.

The boys were getting ready at the house, that way when Alice went home to help set up, they would be there to help. Me and rose were going to head over to Port Angeles to get some last minute supplies, so we weren't going to get there until the party started.

"Bella, come ON! Pink is definitely your color," Alice whined, trying to force me into wearing bright pink lipstick. I just shook my head, and pointed at the tube of red lipstick. "Pink, Alice? Really? It's the twenties, not the eighties." She just sighed, and picked up the red tube, applying a thick layer to my lips. With the amount that she was putting on, I would have thought that I was going to look like a clown. I looked in the mirror, and they actually looked great. I had a lot of foundation and powder on at this point, so my lips really popped against the super pale skin. She turned my head from the mirror, and began to start on my eyes, putting on some smoky gray eyeliner, with a thin layer of matching eye shadow. She followed that with some blue eye shadow over the gray. She put on some super thick mascara after, and started immediately on my hair. "Bella, because of your no-pink rule, I'm not allowing you to look at yourself until you are a completed work of art. Dress and all." I glared at her, and sighed.

She pulled out the straightening iron, and began to use it relentlessly, not allowing any curl to show up. Then she began to curl my hair, making it a little choppy looking. Twenty minutes of tugging and hairspray later, I was pulled out of my seat by an already dressed Rose, who dragged me to her room, and closed the door behind me, telling me to put the dress on, but mind the makeup. I did what she said, even putting on the pantyhose and the shoes, and walked out of the room.

When Alice saw me, she just nodded, and pulled me to the mirror. I looked fantastic. I looked vintage, like I had come right out of an old picture! I was beautiful. Alice took a thin scarf that matched the dress, and tied it around my head to give me a head band. The three of us were set.

Alice ran to her car when she was done, and sped off towards her house. Rose and I thought that we would head over to Port Angeles soon, because it would take a while for us to find what we were looking for, which was some old classic music that would be perfect for a twenties party.

The ride wasn't long at all. We got to talking, and the subjects of conversation switched from school, to boys, so music, to boys, to shopping, and back to boys.

"Bella," Rose sighed, turning down the radio. "Rose," I mimicked, getting a small laugh from her. "Bella, do you like Edward?", she asked me. I stared at her for a minute, and I couldn't think of anything to say to her. "Like, as in how? He's my best friend. Do you mean, like, like as in LIKE? Or just, you know. Like." She stared at me for a second, and laughed. "Im sorry, what? I didn't get that, at ALL. I mean, do you like him as in more than a friend." We were stopped at a stoplight, so she took her hands off the wheel, and said, with air parentheses, "Do you want to 'Hit That'?"

With that, I burst out laughing. "Rosalie, you have NO idea of just how lame you really are. To answer your question, I really don't know. Let me think about it, and Ill get back to you, k? You, just worry about Emmett for now. Don't worry about me."

She stared at me, and started to drive again. "Okay, miss 'sneak out at two in the morning to meet the boy that knocked on her window, who just happened to be Edward'." I raised an eyebrow at her, and sat back in my seat, turning up the radio again.

While we were shopping, I though about the question that Rose asked me. I also thought about how jittery I was when Edward came last night. Why would he do that? He told me that it was because he couldn't sleep and that he wanted to see me. How is any girl going to react calmly about that? Why was I getting more worked up about it then I should be? Why did my breath catch every time he threw me a crooked smile of his? Why does my stomach flutter whenever I think of him? Hey, maybe I do like him. I have thought about it before, but I was debating with myself if it was over actually liking him, or wanting the feeling of liking someone even if I don't, Out of desperation for a significant other.

I have had two boyfriends before. One in 7th grade, the other my freshman year of high school. I was so young then, that I don't really count them as steady relationships that count towards my future love life. I never DID anything with them. My first kiss was with my freshman year boyfriend, but he really wasn't that good of a kisser. We went to the movies together, he kissed me during the opening credits, and fell asleep on my shoulder halfway into the movie. It was the WORST date of my life, regardless of the kiss.

Because of my thoughts about me liking Edward, my mind also wandered to Jessica and Lauren. I met Lauren at the mall my second day in Forks, and she has hated me ever since. I have been here for almost three weeks now, and she has laid on the torture fast. Not only were there rumors going around that I stuff my bra, and that Jessica has seen it with her own eyes when we're changing in gym, but there was the constant hearing of her complaining to her friends about why Edward wants to hang out with me, instead of her. Rose told me that they used to go out for a bit, just about two weeks, because she was relentless and wouldn't stop asking him out, so he finally had to give in. She apparently got drunk the night before they broke up, and tried to get into his pants. He had enough and ditched her, and she has no recollection of the incident whatsoever.

Lauren was really starting to get on my nerves. Sure, she was pretty, and rich, but she was a MAJOR bitch. I can't even imagine why Edward would go out with her in the first place. She was a whore that Im sure has slept with almost the entire male population, at least twice. I was really hoping that she wasn't going to be there tonight. I mean REALLY hoped.

We went to a few stores, and found the music that we needed soon. We looked at the time, and we had 15 minutes left until the party started, so we headed off.

**EPOV**

After we were done setting up my house for the party, almost immediately the guests started to arrive. They all wore the right stuff, so the atmosphere was really cool.

We cleared all of the furniture out of the front room, the dining room, and the living room, so there was a HUGE empty space for a dance floor. People started to dance and mingle, having a good time.

I was having a pretty good time, too, but I was waiting for someone very special to arrive. Bella. Without her here, this party was nothing to me.

About 20 minutes into the party, some more guests arrived. In the crowd of guests, I saw Bella and Rose come in, laughing at an apparent joke made by Tyler Crowley, one of the people entering with them. When I saw Bella, I stopped dead in my tracks. Her hair was in loose curls, running down her shoulders and down her back. Her dress fit her form perfectly, hugging all of the right places. Her make up was of the era, and her lips looked full and sweet. I had the sudden urge to walk over to her, kiss those beautiful lips of hers, and rip that headband off her head, allowing me to run my hands through her perfect head of hair.

When she saw me, she smiled, and began to walk towards me. She was stopped by Tyler, who asked her a question. She just nodded, and gave her his hand. Ok, what? Tyler is dancing with Bella? MY Bella? Wait, did I just call her MY Bella? I liked the sound of that. My Bella. That felt nice to say.

Bella was led onto the dance floor by Tyler, and they began to dance. I just watched her dance, memorizing every move that her body made. She moved so swiftly, so smoothly, that I would have never guessed that she was a huge klutz. Oh shit. What if she fell? Tyler I'm sure doesn't know about her likeliness to fall, what if he couldn't catch her in time? What if she hurt herself? I couldn't let that happen. Bella would NOT be hurt in ANY way if I could do anything to prevent it. I began to walk towards them.

Wait. I just sounded like an overprotective father. Bella will be fine, I'm sure of it. She falls all the time, and she never gets hurt. Maybe I should let her have her fun, even though I now want to rip Tyler's head clean off his shoulders.

Why am I so possessive over Bella? I do like her. A lot. Maybe that's why. Ah, yes. Jealousy. I should be the one dancing with her right now, not Crowley. I want to be able to hold her close to me, as our bodies moved in unison to the sound of the music. I want to be able to lift her off her feet when there is an interlude. I want to be able to kiss her, and never let her go. I want to love her.

And I will. I will make it happen. I made my way over to Bella and Tyler, and held my breath as I asked to cut in.

**BPOV:**

Edward asked to cut into my dance with Tyler at the perfect time. Tyler was acting a little creepy. I think he was a bit drunk. He kept telling me how beautiful I looked, and how I deserved a man that would treat me right. How I was looking at that man right now. I pushed him away a little, and he just held on tighter. Edward looked a little flustered, so I quickly grabbed his hand and pulled away from Tyler. Tyler looked a little pissed, but then he laid his eyes on another girl. He began to make his way towards her, wobbling a little.

"Thanks," I whispered to Edward, and he took my hand and put his other hand on my waist. "He was starting to get a little creepy there." Edward laughed, and turned to look at Tyler, with a little hint of anger in his eyes. He looked back at me, and they softened.

He had gorgeous eyes. They were the reason that I was drawn so close to him. The effect that they had on me was mind blowing. I couldn't quite understand it.

He smiled at me, and started twirling me around. I got a little scared, what with my clumsiness and such, and I think that Edward realized this. He inched close to my ear, and whispered, "Don't worry. If you fall, I will catch you." With that, he breathed on my face, and I was overwhelmed by his scent. I hugged him, and rested my face onto his chest. "I know." That was the perfect moment.

At this point, I could not get Edward out of my mind. I knew for sure that I liked him now, that it wasn't just my mind playing sick tricks on me. This was the real thing. Edward was perfect. I wanted to get into that mind of his, and never come out. I wanted to be able to hug him, and kiss his perfect lips, and stare into those Emerald pools in the middle of his face. I want to travel the world with him by my side, and I want to be able to call him mine. But most of all, I want to love him.

The song ended, and we had to pull apart. Emmett came over to us, and pulled Edward away, talking to him. Edward seemed a bit reluctant to go, giving me a sad look, but I just smiled and waved him off. It wouldn't be the last time I would dance with him, that night. And that was for sure.

Jessica and Lauren came up to me while I was at the snack table, getting myself something to drink. "Hey Bella, how's it going?", Lauren asked me, with a sneer, and a fake smile. She didn't give any time to reply before they both pulled me into the kitchen, away form everyone.

"It looked like you and Edward were pretty cozy out there, Bella.", Lauren said, giving me a look. I narrowed my eyes, and nodded, not saying anything.

"Look, Bella. You just moved here, so I have to cut you some slack. You don't know your place here yet. I don't know how everyone acted back where you came from, but you should know the way things are here." She turned to Jessica, and waved her on, telling her to continue. "You see, Bella, We're not trying to be mean to you, but were going to be blunt with you. Honestly, you don't stand a chance with Edward. I mean, Look at you!" With that, she looked at me up and down, making a disgusted face. I couldn't say anything. I was rooted to the floor, speechless. "Bella, you have nothing special about you. You're the new girl, and Edward is probably being nice to you because he feels bad for you. I mean, look at him! He is gorgeous, and is the epithet of the gods. You look like you just crawled out of a hole compared to him. All we're trying to say, is that its best if you don't get too caught up with Edward, and leave him alone. No body likes a stalker, Bella. Edward can do so much better than you, so why don't you just leave him alone and let him live his life the way he wants to live it; without you."

They walked off, leaving me in the room alone. I felt numb. I knew that they were just saying that stuff to spite me, because they hate me. I knew that I should not listen to them, but what they said was right. I was too plain. Edward was not plain. It was almost impossible to imagine him ever liking me, because there were just so many other girls out there that would be better for him than me. Actresses, Models, you name it.

I also realized that if the case were that he was just acting like my friend because he felt sorry for me, then I would have to show him that I didn't need him in my life to be confident. I didn't need his shoulder to lean on.

I stormed right out of that kitchen, and saw him on the Dance floor, talking to Emmett. I stormed right past a shocked Lauren and Jessica, and I went right up to him.

He seemed taken by surprise, and we started dancing. I needed to show him that I am strong without him, and that I don't need him. If I could make a good impression by dancing with him, then I could prove to both him and myself that I didn't need him in my life. God, how could I have been so stupid? I liked Edward. A lot. I could have made such a fool of myself.

I danced as perfectly as I could, remaining strong, trying to hold back my tears. He could not see me cry. He couldn't. I couldn't cry. I could not ruin my confidence with crying. I felt so mad, so angry and upset. I just wanted to lock myself in my room and never come out. I hated myself. I hated myself for not being good enough for him. At this time, all I wanted was to go back home to Evanston and pretend like none of this had ever happened. That I never met Edward, or Alice, or Jasper and Rose. They were all beautiful too, so why would they want to be friends with me?

I was really having an impression on him, I think. He looked taken back, and tried to hold me closer. I pushed him away a little, and closed my eyes, still dancing to the best of my ability. We had an audience at this point.

I was doing really well, letting my emotions take over, until I tripped over my feet, falling to the side. Edward, of course, caught me, and I was flung onto him, with him holding me up by my waist. I couldn't hold the tears in much longer, and I just let them all out. I pushed him off me, and ran as fast as I possibly could out the door and back home.

**EPOV**

Bella came up to me, with an expression I was a little scared of. Something was wrong. I could tell. She looked like she was on the verge of tears while she was dancing, and that made me sad. Something was really, really wrong.

She tripped, and I caught her. She tensed in my arms, and started to dry heave. She pushed away from me with as much force as she could muster, and bolted out of the room. It all happened so fast, that I barely had any time to go over what had happened in my head before she was out the door. People were staring, and I just stood there with a look of confusion on my face. I saw Alice run out the door after her, followed by Rose and Jasper. I still couldn't move. Emmett came up to me, asking what was wrong. I honestly didn't know, but we ran right after them.

We all got outside, and ran up to Bella's front door, pounding on it. Emmett gasped, and we all turned to him. He was facing the street, pointing to the spot where Bella's car should have been. Nothing was there.

She was gone.

**A/N:**

**Ahhh! Cliffie!!!**

**A little cliffhanger here and there never hurts, right?**

**Chapter 7, people! Hope you liked it. **

**I will update soon enough, so you don't have to wait that long to find out whats next. I promise. **

**HAPPY HALLOWEEN!**


	8. Chapter 8: Apologies

**BPOV**

_A winter's day_

_In a deep, and dark December_

_I am alone._

_gazing through my window_

_To the streets below_

_Im a freshly fallen, silent shroud of snow_

_I am a rock. I am an island._

The radio blasted through my car speakers. It had started to rain, and it just kept getting heavier, and heavier. I couldn't go anywhere. I just sat there, in my car, in the school's parking lot for what seemed like hours.

I thought about going back, but I just couldn't face anyone. Not now. Not yet. Jessica and Lauren were probably getting a kick out of my actions. I gave into them. I gave them what they wanted, and as much as I would have hated myself for doing so, I really couldn't care less now. I was so strong and independent before, but when my dad died, my entire world fell apart. I lost everything. I lost my home, I lost my friends, I lost my town. I had to start all over again.

I laid back against the car seat, and closed my eyes, turning up the radio. I loved this song.

_I've built walls_

_A fortress deep and mighty_

_That none may penetrate_

_I have no need for friendship_

_Friendship causes pain_

_Its loving and its laughter I disdain_

_I am a rock, I am an Island_

I turned my head to look out the window. There was a man approaching my car. My breathing hitched, and my heart started to breathe faster. He just kept getting closer, and closer. A wave of fear swept through me, and I think I began to shake. He kept walking towards me, and I think I almost fainted.

He got to the car, and he started to knock on my window. He was holding an umbrella, and by the look on his face, he looked a little annoyed. He didn't look scary, he was old. I think that he might have been a janitor at the school. I rolled down my window a little, and Im sure I looked pathetic. I was still in my costume, and my eye makeup was ruined from my crying.

"Excuse me, Miss. I'm afraid that you can't be here right now, it's late, and the school's closed. Im going to have to ask you to leave." He looked at me, and I sighed.

I rolled up my window after apologizing, and I started my car. The music was still playing.

_Don't talk of love_

_But I've heard the word before_

_It's sleeping in my memory_

_I won't disturb the slumber_

_Of feelings that have died_

_If I've never loved, I never would have cried_

_I am a rock, I am an Island._

Oh, how ironic. As soon as my heart breaks, the Radio has to play Simon and Garfunkel. Amazing. That last verse fit my feelings perfectly. Oh, how I love them. I made a mental note to go to the store and buy one of their CD's. My dad got me into them when I was little. I grew up listening to them. My music was the only thing from my childhood that I have left right now.

I still have Emmett and my mother, but I can't talk to either of them. Emmett would get angry, and nothing good ever comes from an angry Emmett. My mother was out tonight, with a man that she met at the grocery store the week we moved in. I think his name was Phil. I couldn't help but be angry at her. How could she be so fast to move on? How could she be so selfish?

I drove around, not going anywhere in particular. All I knew is that I had a full gas tank, a map in case I got lost, and endless possibilities of what to do. I just played it safe and hit the highway. The song was about to end.

_I have my books_

_And my poetry to protect me_

_I am shielded in my armor_

_Hiding in my room, Safe within my womb_

_I touch no one, and no one touches me_

_I am a rock, I am an island_

_And a rock feels no pain._

_And an Island, never dies._

That last line hit me. What was I doing? I told myself that I needed to be strong, and show that I didn't need anyone, and by doing that, I ran away. Pathetic. This wasn't answering any of my questions.

I kept driving, till I found the nearest exit. I drove into it, and tried to find somewhere to turn around.

I got back on the highway, and headed back towards town. It was 11 at this point, and it was Halloween. No one was out on the road. It was just me and my car.

I let a few miles speed past me, still listening to music to get my mind off things, when my car made a weird noise. Oh no. Not again.

"Come on, baby. Don't do this to me, not right now!" This has happened before, many times. A Karman Ghia was a great car to have, but the engine was worthless. I pulled up to the side of the road, and my car gave out. I saw smoke coming out of the hood from the rearview mirror. I closed my eyes, and fell back on the seat again. There was no one around me for miles, and it was raining cats and dogs. This night couldn't get any worse. I started to cry again when I realized that no one knew where I was.

I had a toolbox in my trunk that I always have on me just in case this happens, and I know how to fix a car. I'm great with cars, which is a gift that I got from my dad.

I stepped out into the rain, taking off my shoes and pantyhose, throwing them into the back seat. I also threw off my headband, so all I was wearing was my dress. Nothing needed to get in the way. I walked around to the back, not caring about me getting drenched. I opened the hood, and a huge amount of black smoke came out at me. I observed the problem, and realized that it was easily solved. I pulled out the toolbox, and began to tinker around.

When I finished, a car's headlights shone in my view, and the car slowed down next to me. "Hey, are you alright? It looks like your having some car trouble." , a voice said from the car. I looked to see who it was, and it was a boy about my age. He was dark skinned, very tan. He had jet black hair, and a nice smile. "I'm Jake, by the way."

I ran over to his window, and said "Bella. My car just broke down, but I have it under control. Thanks though." I turned around, and I heard him get out of his car. He opened up an umbrella, and walked over to me. "Mind if I take a look? You're a mess," he said with a laugh. I looked down at myself, and sure enough, not only was I drenched, but I was covered in Grease. I laughed, and nodded. "Sure, go right ahead. I think I have it fixed, though. I just have to start the car to see."

Jake approached the hood, and looked under it. "It looks pretty good, try and start it." He put the hood down, and stepped back. I got in, and started the car. It started to run, but then failed again. I sighed, and hit the steering wheel. "God damn it. This is fucking PERFECT," I yelled, and put my head in my hands. I really didn't need this right now.

Jake opened my door, and pulled me out of the car, closing the door behind me. He pulled me over to his car, and I got in. He parked his car on the side of the road, right in back of my car, and pulled out a cell phone. He dialed a few numbers, and started talking. "Hey, Joe. Look, a friend of mine just had her car break down on the I35. Can you send a truck down here to tow it in?" He smiled at me, and nodded, still talking to 'Joe.' "Yeah. The sooner, the better. There's no traffic, as usual. Mhmm. Yeah. It's a baby blue Karman Ghia, good condition." He paused, listening to the man on the other end. "Okay, see you soon." He hung up the phone with that, and turned to face me. "My mechanic is on his way. He can tow your truck into his shop for you." I hugged him, and thanked him for everything. He turned on the radio, and we started talking while we waited for Joe to arrive.

"So, tell me about yourself," I told him. We were sitting in a diner across the street from the Auto shop where my car was. "Well," he started, "My name is Jake Black, and I live over on the Quileute reservation, with my Dad. I fix up cars for a hobby, that's how I know Joe. Don't worry about the cost, by the way, he told me that because it was me, it was pro bono." He smiled at that, and with a look of pride on his face, he crossed his arms across his chest, and leaned back into the booth seat. I laughed, and thanked him. "Seriously, you have NO idea how much I appreciate this." He just nodded, and took a sip of his coffee, sitting the mug back on the table with a thump. "Don't worry about it. Now, it's your turn. Tell me about you."

I told him my story, about my dad and moving here. He just nodded, listening intently. I told him about what had happened today, and a frown flashed across his face. "Jeez, Bella. I'm sorry. That really, really sucks. Hey, if you ever need someone to talk to, or hang out with, I'm just a phone call away." It was then that I knew that we were going to be great friends.

We continued to talk, and he told me that I should meet his girlfriend, Leah, that we would get together really well. We made plans for the three of us to go see a movie the next day, and I was really looking forward to it. Not just because I was going to make new friends, but because I really didn't want to be at home now. I was going to go back tonight of course, but tomorrow, I wanted to be anywhere BUT there. I didn't want to face anyone. Not yet, at least.

Jake brought me home after that, and it was about 2 in the morning. I was still a mess, and I had just realized how tired I was. I was exhausted.

I walked into my house slowly, trying not to make any noise. Emmett was asleep on the couch in the living room, with a phone beside him. Poor Emmett. I should have called him to let him know I was alright. I walked over to him, and took the Duvet cover off the day bed, laying it on top of him. I was still really upset and angry, but he didn't do anything wrong. It was impossible to be mad at him. I was glad that he was asleep, though, I didn't want to have to talk to ANYONE right now. I slowly walked back upstairs, and without taking off my dress, I collapsed on my bed, and immediately fell into a deep sleep.

**EPOV**

Bella was missing. I can't believe that she would just leave without telling anyone what was wrong!

The party had ended not long after Bella left, which was a good thing. We couldn't have any distractions trying to find her. She left her cell phone at home, so I got scared. If something happened to her, she wouldn't be able to call anyone. We all went over to her house, and waited to see if she would come home. I wanted to call the police, but Alice wouldn't let me. "She was really upset. She needs some time to herself. She'll come back on her own accord, don't worry." She looked worried, though. Then we heard some thunder, and it began to rain.

Alice and I soon returned home. It was really late, and we needed to sleep. One problem. I couldn't sleep. I tried extremely hard, but I just couldn't stop worrying about Bella. I don't know how long I was tossing and turning, but I finally let sleep overcome me.

When I woke up, It was light out. I glanced at the clock, and it read 1. I quickly shot out of bed, and raced over to Alice's room. She was sitting on her bed, on the phone with Jasper. She hung up when she saw me, and gave me a hug. "Any news on Bella?", I asked her, and she shook her head. "Edward, Im scared," she said, with tears in her eyes. She hugged me tighter, and I rested my chin on her head, letting her cry into my chest. "I'm scared too, Alice." We just stood there for who knows how long, until her phone started ringing again.

She answered it, and I left. I went downstairs, and walked around my living room for a while. I sat down, and rested my head in my hands. I glanced up, and saw my piano. I got up and sat down on the bench, running my hands over the ivory keys, and gently pressing down on one. I began to play, not playing anything in particular. I just let my emotions guide the music, and eventually, I poured my heart and soul into the song. I liked the way it was coming together, so I pulled out some manuscript paper, and began to write down the song. I played it over and over, and the whole time I was thinking about Bella. I realized soon that she was inspiring it, so at the top of the margin, I wrote down the title, 'Bella's Lullaby'.

Alice came downstairs, with a look of contentment on her face. She was proud that I was playing again. I hadn't for so long. She told me to get up, because we were going to go over to Bella's house, and wait some more for her return. I asked her what time it was, and she told me that it was 5:30. I spent 3 hours writing that song for her, and I didn't even realize it. I didn't care, though. All that mattered was that she needed to get home so that my mind could be at peace. I grabbed my coat, and followed Alice out the door.

**BPOV**

I snuck back out around 10. Emmett was still asleep, and I still didn't know where my mother was. Jake picked me up, and we headed out to pick up Leah, and head to the mall.

They were really cool, and I had a great time. Around 2, Jake got a call from Joe telling him that my car was ready. He was going to drop me off at the shop later so that I could drive it home myself. We saw some movies, and went out to dinner.

By the time I got home, it was already 7. I had forgotten that I was still upset at everyone until I pulled up to the front of the house, and saw everyone rushing outside to greet me. I almost started the car again and sped off, but Alice was already at my door, opening it, jumping inside, and pulling me into a hug, crying into my shoulder. I was shocked. "Bella, oh god. We were so worried, what happened? How could you do that to us? Don't you love me? Bella, TALK TO ME." She was shaking me at this point, and I could feel her tears dripping onto my shirt. I looked up, and everyone was looking at us from outside the car. I didn't know how to respond.

I pushed Alice off of me, and she fell limp onto the seat next to me. I got out slowly, and walked up towards the front of the house, not saying anything. I was so confused about everything, and I needed some time to think. I ignored all the cries from everyone calling after me, and I stormed up to my room, locking the door behind me.

I heard everyone run upstairs after me, and pounding on my door. I heard Emmett and Alice yelling at me, "BELLA! OPEN THIS DOOR RIGHT NOW! TALK TO US! Please, Bella. PLEASE."

I was numb. Should I talk to them? I knew that I should. I realized that what I was doing was out of hand, and that they deserved an explanation, so I slowly got up. I walked to the door, and opened it, finding everyone sitting down on the wall next to my door, Alice still crying. I walked out, and told Alice and Rose that I needed to talk to them. Edward looked up at me, worry spread across his gorgeous features. Him, Jasper, and Emmett stood up. I gave Emmett a hug, and told everyone that I was sorry for leaving like that, that I needed to think.

I pulled Alice and Rose into my room, and Rose closed the door behind her. I then began to tell them what happened with Lauren and Jessica.

I didn't know what to expect from their reactions. They were extremely angry. Not at me, but at Jessica and Lauren. Then, something hit me. They didn't hate me. They loved me. Why would they care so much if they didn't? "Bella," Alice whined, pulling me into a hug. "Why would you ever listen to them? Bella, we don't hate you. Edward especially." With this, I started to cry again. I apologized over and over again, and Rose didn't say anything. Instead, she took her phone out, and dialed a number. She left the room, and went downstairs. I looked over at Alice, who hugged me again, and told me that nothing that they said was true. "Bella, you are an amazing person, Don't you EVER forget that." She pulled me off the bed, and pulled me downstairs, where I repeated the story to the guys. Emmett of course freaked out, and Jasper had to try to restrain him. Edward stood up, walked over to me, and took my hand. He lifted me off the couch, and wiped my tears away, cupping my face. His eyes burned holes into mine. I don't know what came over me, but I threw myself at him, squeezing him in a hug that I never wanted to end. "Bella…" he said, holding the back of my head into his neck, and rubbing soothing circles into my back, "Don't worry. Everything is fine now. Don't cry. We love you, Bella." This relaxed me. Then, he whispered something into my ear. "Oh, by the way. You are definitely not plain." I think that my heart skipped a beat when he said this.

My head was swimming that night when I went to bed. That night I dreamt about Edward.

**A/N**

**Okay, This chapter wasn't the best. I felt as if it were a bit rushed, so im sorry.**

**The song used was I Am A Rock, by Simon and Garfunkel.**


	9. Chapter 9: Vacation!

**BPOV**

A month had passed since the whole Jessica and Lauren incident. They were taken care of, as far as we knew it. Alice threw a fit in the middle of the lunchroom that Monday that shut them up about me for good. Heck, I think that the entire cafeteria was scared.

It was Thanksgiving, and everyone's families came over to our house for dinner. Everyone was happy. Alice and Rose had come over to give me a makeover before dinner started, so that I could look my best. Edward and Jasper came with their families later.

At the table, Jasper and Rose sat with their parents, and Emmett sat on Rose's other side. Alice sat on Jasper's other side, and her parents sat between her and Edward. I sat next to Edward, next to my mom, who was next to Emmett. Everyone was satisfied with the seating arrangements. Emmett got the privilege of carving the turkey, and he made it a show for us.

"Say hello to my little friend!" he boomed, picking up the little mechanical blade and starting to hack up the turkey, imitating Al Pacino. The entire table was laughing and having a good time, and we all started talking in our own little conversations. When dinner was done, Alice, Rose and I went up to my room to hang out while the guys went to Emmett's room. The adults stayed downstairs.

"Bella, when are you going to tell Edward you love him?", Alice asked, sitting me down on the bed. "Guys, we've been over this! Edward doesn't like me like that! You need to relax. Besides, I don't want to make things awkward. He's my best friend, for Christ's sake!"

Alice just crossed her arms, and rolled her eyes. "Bella, he DOES like you. It's completely obvious. Isn't it, Rose?" Rose just shook her head, and started where Alice left off. "Besides, Bella. He would be INSANE not to like you back. Your gorgeous."

"Thanks Rose, for pointing out that he likes me for my looks!", I said sarcastically, and Alice got a little pissed. "Bella, this is NOT a joking matter! You HAVE to make a move SOON, cause let me tell you, he's not going to be available forever." I laughed at this. "Alice, again. RELAX. I'll tell him when the time is right, when I'm sure that he won't freak out about it. I want to tell him, I just don't know how." She was about to respond to that, when My mother called everyone downstairs.

Our parents sat everyone down on the couch, and stood in front of us. My mom stepped forward, and said "Hey, kids. Look. Me and your parent's have been talking, and we thought of an idea that we're sure you'll like." This caught my attention. My mom has been known to be cool, and something involving their parents was bound to be great.

"Well," Esme chimed in, "We have all decided that you all are going to go on a little vacation." We were practically on the edge of our seats at that point. Alice and Rose cheered, and the guys gave each other high fives. I was the only one that asked where. "Well Bella, this is the part that I was sure you'd love. I haven't seen my sister since we moved, so I'm going to take all of you kids back to Evanston for a week."

That got me going. I jumped up, ran to give my mom a huge hug, and turned to face Emmett, who had the exact reaction. "EMMETT! WE'RE GOING HOME!!!!" I jumped at him, and he picked me up in a huge bear hug, spinning me around. When he finally let me down, I saw that everyone else had ran to their parents and that they had the same reactions. As soon as I could, I picked my phone out of my pocket, and sent out a mass text to all of my old friends, saying 'IM COMING HOME!'. I got about 15 replies asking when, so I asked my mom. "We're going to hit the road the day before Christmas Eve, and head back about a week and a half later. Im going to get the plane tickets soon, that way there won't be too much of a hassle.

Alice and Rose looked at each other when she was telling me this, and when I was about to text all of my other friends, they grabbed my arm, and pulled me upstairs.

"BELLA!" they both screamed, jumping up and down. "TELL HIM ON THE TRIP!", they said. I rolled my eyes, and shook my head. "Guys, guys. Please. It's possible, ok? Jeez. You two are more exited about seeing us together than going on the actual trip!" Alice just shook her head, and denied that statement. "Bella, that can't be possible. I REALLY want to meet all of your old friends. And also, I can't wait to see the shopping that is possible downtown there." She had a faraway look in her eyes as she said this. I told her before that downtown Evanston was huge, and that it was the thing that I missed the most. "Alice, what downtown? Downtown Evanston, or Downtown Chicago?" A look of pure wonder and excitement passed across her face when I said Chicago. "CHICAGO! OH MY GOD WE'RE GOING TO CHICAGO!" She had to sit down on the bed, because it looked as if she were about to faint. "Yes, Alice. Chicago. Relax, it's just a city!" Alice looked almost angered by this. "BELLA. Chicago is the shopping WONDERLAND of the entire Midwest. I can't believe you would even SAY that." She looked really angry, and me and Rose just laughed. Alice was so funny when she was mad.

We decided that since the trip was a couple weeks off, that we were going to try to head to the mall to find some new clothes for the trip. Chicago can get pretty cold, especially since it's on Lake Michigan. Me of all people would know, flu season is a bitch there.

They all went home a little later, leaving me and Emmett home with our Mother, who was now our favorite person in the world. When I had changed into my pajamas and brushed my teeth, I walked into her room to find her reading in bed.

"Hey, sweetie. What can I do for you?" she said, patting the area next to her. I sat down, and hugged her again. "I just can't believe that we're going home! Where did you get that idea?" She just shrugged, and told me "I haven't seen your Aunt Jodie since we moved. I miss her. I miss everyone back there, and I thought that this would be fun. She is going to let us all stay with her in those empty rooms she has."

I used to love going to my Aunt Jodie's house when we were little. She bought a house in Evanston's Historical district, where all the old Victorian houses are. She moved into the biggest one, which had about 6 extra rooms on the third floor that she doesn't use. She restored the house, making it one of my favorite places in Evanston. Emmett and I used to go up to the third floor, and play tag, running through maze of all the empty rooms. There was more than enough room there, and this just made me happier. I missed Aunt Jodie too.

"God, I can't wait. This is going to be so much fun! But how are we going to get there?", I asked my mom. "Well, we're going to take a plane to Chicago, where Jodie's going to pick us all up, and bring us back to her place. Im going to rent a car for the stay." I just nodded, and hopped off her bed. I didn't know how I was going to sleep that night with all the excitement. All I knew was that the next 3 weeks was going to be torture.

**EPOV**

Okay, this was completely awesome. Not only was I going on vacation, but I was going to my best friend's old town. And this happened to be the best friend that I liked. A lot. I was going to spend a week with the people that I loved more anything in the world, in a place thousands of miles away from everything. Things couldn't get better.

We were leaving the next day, so Alice and Jasper and were going to go to the mall one last time before we left to make sure that we had everything we needed. Bella didn't think that all the shopping was necessary, because there would be places there where we would be able to stock up. I agreed with her 100%. Chicago was huge.

"Alice, you shouldn't get so much stuff! Your not going to have any left for the trip," I told Alice, who was throwing a million coats over her arm to try on. "Oh, Edward. It's called a credit card. Besides, Bella said it would be cold!" I saw Jasper roll his eyes, and say "Alice, honey. It's just as cold here as it is there. You have plenty of coats."

Alice stuck her tongue out at me, and put the coats back. I pulled her out of the store, and the three of us walked over to the food court. "Guys, why can't we leave already? I love vacations," Jasper said, putting his arm around Alice. "Jazzy, I know exactly how you feel. As SOON as we get there, we're going to go to Michigan Ave. That's where the BEST shops are. And I need a new Chanel bag. My other one is outdated." I gave her an incredulous look, and she looked worried. "What? It's not like I can lug that old thing around anymore. It's like 6 years old!" I rolled my eyes, and took a sip out of my drink.

We went home after going to the food court, and I started to pack. It probably wasn't that good that I waited this long to start packing, but I was just too lazy to start any time sooner. I pulled a duffle out from under my bed, and threw in some clothes that will last me a week. I packed some boxers, and I threw in some sweatpants and some sweatshirts. I packed some stuff that I can sleep in, and I threw in 3 pairs of shoes: my Converse, my Vans, and some boots. That process took me about 30 minutes, and I started on the other things. Toiletries, things to keep my busy, and then my electronic devices and carry-ons. I grabbed my camera, and put it in a backpack that I was taking with me on the plane. I also grabbed my Ipod, my Phone, and some books. It was a 3 hour flight, so I figured that between that and conversing with people that I was going to be set.

I looked over at my bed, and saw all the Christmas presents that I got early from my parents, since I was going to be gone for it. I got some nice stuff. I got a borders gift card, some Ipod speakers, and 500$ cash for the trip. I stuffed the cash and gift card in my wallet, and threw the speakers in the carry on. I tossed them onto the duffle by the door, turned off the light, and got into bed. Tomorrow was going to be a long day, so I wanted to get to bed early. We were leaving for Seattle at 9, where we were going to catch the plane to Chicago. It was already 10.

I pulled the covers up, and looked out the window. My room faced Bella's room, and I saw her light go on. I laid there in bed, watching her move through her room. I smiled. Bella was on the phone with her friend, I could see her silhouette from behind her window. She was laughing and talking, and she opened her window to look outside. She glanced towards my room, and leaned on her windowsill. She saw me, and gave a little wave, still on the phone. She said something, and laughed a little.

I heard my door open, and Alice poked her head into the room. "Bella says hi, Edward." I looked back at Bella, and she was laughing. I waved, and Alice walked in. "Who are you waving at?" When she looked where I was looking, she gasped. "Edward, what are you? Some sort of peeping tom?!?!" With that, she closed my window, and drew the curtain. "Shame on you. You'll see her bright and early tomorrow." I heard Bella say something in the phone, and I thought that she told Alice to open the curtain back up. "Bella," she said, into the phone. "Like I told Edward, You'll see him tomorrow. Now, I think that we should go to sleep. Big day tomorrow!" With that, she left. I rolled over in my bed, and fell asleep.

**A/N:**

**Voila, Chapitre neuf etait ici! (chapter 9 is here!)**

**Sorry if it's a bit rushed, homework has been a KILLER in the last week. I barely had any time to write this, but I wanted to get to the next chapter fast. **

**It's still going to be good, though. Don't worry about that. **

**Im really exited to write the next few chapters. I am interested to see how I will depict the characters acting in my humble little town! **

**But seriously, im sure you would have fun writing a story about Bella and Edward that takes place in YOUR town, so you can't really blame me for trying! I have creative liscence.**

**DISCLAIMER: ALL TWILIGHT CHARACTERS OWNED BY STEPHENIE MEYER, NOT ME!!!**


	10. Chapter 10: Evanston

**EPOV**

I woke up the next morning at 7. This left me enough time to shower and make sure that I had everything together. We were leaving at 8:30, and we were going to get breakfast on the way to the airport. The drive was going to take about two hours, so I would be able to sleep a little more if I needed to.

I got dressed, choosing clothes that I would be comfortable traveling in. Alice knocked on the door to my room, and told her that she could come in. She came in, followed by Rose. They sat down on my bed, and watched me move around.

"Edward," Alice stated. "Alice," I mimicked, trying to match her voice. "Haha, very funny. Look. We came here to talk to you about Bella." I groaned, and fell onto my bed, facing the ceiling. "What about her?", I asked, closing my eyes, and resting my arms under my head. Whenever she wants to talk to me about Bella, it's always about the fact that I love her, and need to tell her. I was actually thinking about telling her on the trip, but I didn't think that that was going to happen.

"Edward, you really should tell her. Somehow I know that she'll be just as happy as you are," Rose intervened. "Yes, Rose. But don't forget that that's just what you THINK. You can't expect me to tell Bella how I feel about her on a whim, you know."

Alice stood up, and started to pace the room. It was fast getting time to go, so I got up too, grabbing my stuff and heading for the door to bring my stuff downstairs. I was almost there when Alice stepped in front of it. "Just, promise me that you'll think about telling her. Promise?" I rolled my eyes, and reached for the doorknob. "Yeah, I promise." There was no winning with Alice. I've learned that the hard way.

Bella and Emmett came around a quarter past 8, and helped us bring our luggage over to the car. When everything was packed, we made sure that we had everything, and after saying bye to our parents, we hit the road.

Bella's mom had a big car. It seat 7 people comfortably, and had one of those installed DVD players. Bella had told me that it was her family car back in Evanston, and that her father would always take them camping up in Wisconsin, that's why they got a big car. Apparently her dad was really outdoorsy.

Bella sat in the passenger seat next to her mother, and I sat in the seat behind her. Rose and Emmett sat next to me, and Alice and Jasper sat in the way back behind us, next to some of the luggage that wouldn't fit in the trunk. Emmett brought some movies for us to watch, but none of us wanted to watch them. I actually took a small nap, only waking up when we stopped at the McDonalds about halfway there.

When we entered Seattle, you could tell that it was the holiday season. The city was decorated, and the traffic was AWFUL. I thought that we were going to miss our flight! But sure enough, we arrived at the airport right on time.

We entered the airport, and it was extremely busy. There were people everywhere. I couldn't tell where the lines were it was so busy. "Alright, guys. This way!", Bella's mom said, pushing us towards an area that had security guards stationed at Metal detectors.

That process took us about 15 minutes, because again, there were A LOT of people. We were rushed out of that area fast, and we headed for the lobby of our flight. We all sat down, and waited patiently for the flight to begin boarding. The wait took about half an hour, before we heard the stewardess announce "Flight 106 to Chicago now boarding". We all got up, and headed to the line in the terminal. I stood next to Bella, and she grabbed my hand, smiling ahead. "We're going back! To Evanston! Edward, I just can't believe it!", she told me, practically jumping out of her shoes. I laughed, and calmed her down. "Do you want to sit with me on the plane?", she asked me. I couldn't respond soon enough. "Wasn't that the plan all along?" , I replied. She squeezed my hand and walked forward.

We gave the stewardess our boarding passes, and walked onto the plane, finding our seats. She took the window seat, and I took the one next to her, leaving the third seat open. A little old lady came, and sat down next to me, smiling. "Hey there, how are you young folks doing?", she asked sweetly. Bella leaned forward, and gave the woman her hand. "Hey there, I'm Bella. It's nice to meet you." The lady smiled and shook her hand, and then turned to ask the stewardess a question. I leaned over to Bella, and whispered into her ear, "She smells like old people." Bella laughed quietly, and playfully punched my arm. "hey, stop it. She's adorable. I love old people!"

The plane took off, and the lady next to me fell asleep. Alice and Jasper were sitting in front of us, with an empty seat, Rose and Emmett behind us, with Bella's mom. Me and Bella were talking and having a good time, and she told me that she was getting a little tired. I told her that she should take a nap, since we had a few hours to spare. She nodded and yawned, resting her head on my shoulder, and falling asleep. This was nice. I could smell her shampoo, strawberry. Delicious, sweet, mouthwatering strawberries. I think that I almost lost it. She was so beautiful, and she was the coolest person ever. She was my life. I rested my head on hers, and I too fell asleep.

We were woken up by Alice, who told us that we were over Chicago. Bella jumped, hitting our heads together. "Smooth, Bells." I told her, rubbing the spot where she hit me. "Oh, man up, Edward. Look! It really is Chicago!" I leaned over to see out the window that she was looking at, and sure enough, there it was. Chicago was huge. I knew that fact, Bella told me, but It seemed to be even bigger than I though looking out of the plane. We started to turn, and we were circling the city. Bella was looking out of the window with tears in her eyes. I guess she really loved this place. I wiped the tears off of her cheek, and she turned to face me, looking me in the eye.

Bella's eyes were extraordinary. They were deep set chocolate brown that had so much depth and wonder to them. I loved to look at them. She smiled, and gave me a hug. "You are going to LOVE it here. I promise." I couldn't help but grin and nod.

When I tried to get a better view out the window, I accidentally leaned into Bella. She didn't mind, she just looked farther out too. Eventually, she leaned back into my chest, and I wrapped my arms around her waist. I have never been so close to her before, and I loved the feeling. Since she didn't pull away, I guessed that she liked it too. We just kept looking out the window, until Alice poked her head out from nowhere and reminded us to get our stuff together. Last time I was on a plane I left my camera on it, and I never wanted to make that mistake again. Alice was right, so I pulled away from Bella, and she started to pack things up while I reminded Emmett and Rose.

The plane landed, and we got off. As soon as we got off the plane, we got blasted with a gust of cold air. I immediately put on my jacket, and continued walking with everyone to the end of the terminal. We stopped, and Bella's mom made a phone call to who I was guessing was their aunt. She was waiting outside at the drive around, so we hurried up to baggage claim to go faster.

It took us a while for us to get our bags, because Alice brought a lot, which was just more baggage to get a hold of. We finished eventually, and hurried outside.

Aunt Jodie was waiting right at the exit, and almost immediately, Bella, Emmett, and their mom ran over to her and ambushed her in a hug.

"Guys! Please! Your making a scene.", she said, laughing, and giving them more hugs. "Okay, yes, yes, yes. It's nice to see you too! But, if you don't remember, there are other people in our company! Please, enlighten me." She waved over to us, and Bella introduced all of us. We climbed into her car after putting our stuff in the back. She had a big car, so we were able to fit all of our bags easily. I sat next to Bella this time, in the seats behind the driver. Alice and Jasper sat next to us, and behind us sat Rose and Emmett. Bella's mom sat in the passenger seat.

We started to drive, and I looked out the window to see the magnificent city that is Chicago. The buildings were HUGE. It was no wonder that Bella missed it so much. There was snow everywhere, and it looked amazing. It was beautiful. Jodie turned on the radio, and started to flip channels. She went past a station, and almost immediately, Rose yelled out to keep it. I had never heard the song before, but apparently Bella had, because she turned around, and said "ROSE. YOU KNOW CAROLINA LIAR!?!?!" Rose looked at her with wide eyes, and smiled, nodding, singing along with the song. Bella started to sing too, and Jodie turned up the radio.

Wait, I'm wrong

Should have done better than this

Please, I'll be strong

I'm finding it hard to resist

So show me what I'm looking for

Save me, I'm lost

Oh lord, I've been waiting for you

I'll pay any cost

Save me from being confused

Show me what I'm looking for

Show me what I'm looking for…oh lord

Don't let go

I've wanted this far too long

Mistakes become regrets

I've learned to love abuse

Please show me what I'm looking for

Save me, I'm lost

Oh lord, I've been waiting for you

I'll pay any cost

Save me from being confused

Show me what I'm looking for

Show me what I'm looking for…oh lord

Show me what I'm looking for

Show me what I'm looking for

Show me what I'm looking for

Save me, I'm lost

Oh lord, I've been waiting for you

I'll pay any cost

Just save me from being confused

Wait, I'm wrong

I can't do better than this

I'll pay any cost

Save me from being confused

Show me what I'm looking for

Show me what I'm looking for

Show me what I'm looking for

Show me what I'm looking for…oh lord

The two of them were laughing hysterically by the time the song was done. I just laughed, and said "Wow, you guys are cool." Bella glared at me, and scoffed. "Well, FYI, Edward, that song just happens to be my favorite song, so therefore, I have the right to sing it. I saw it live at the house of blues before I moved. It was one of the best shows I've been to. I hugged her, and said "No, Bella, Really. You really ARE cool." She laughed at this, and leaned into me again. Alice nudged her, and said "Awww, you guys are SOOOO cute!" I glared at her. Why can't she just put the whole Bella thing to rest? Rose however, was freaking out in the back. "Bella, did you just say that you saw Carolina Liar? That is SOOO lucky." Bella looked back at her, and stated nonchalantly, " Yeah, I saw them with We The Kings and The Academy Is…. It was awesome." Rose's mouth was literally hanging open at this. "Here, I think I still have some video on my phone from the show." She opened her phone, and started scrolling through the files on it, opening a video file, and handing the phone to Rose, who's eyes were bugging out of her head. It was really funny to watch.

Jodie started to talk to us, asking us questions about ourselves, and filling us in on some things that we could possibly do while we were there. The ride went much faster this way, and before we knew it, we were out of the Chicago city limits, and Bella was practically jumping out of her seat when she told me that we were in Evanston now. Some tears started to fall down her cheeks, and I wiped them off with the sleeve of my jacket. She rested her head on my shoulders, and sighed.

About 10 minutes later, we arrived at a HUGE house on a street full of old, Victorian looking houses. It was a beautiful neighborhood. We got out of the car, and looked around. People started to grab their luggage, and I followed suit, bringing them into the warm, cozy house. As soon as she was in, Jodie left to the kitchen to make us some hot chocolate. I grabbed my duffle and carry-on, and followed everyone else upstairs to scope out rooms.

The third floor bedrooms were all connected, so Bella was right when she told us that the rooms made mazes. There were two big empty rooms, with three cots in the middle of the floors. The girls chose a room, and started to unpack a little, so Me, Emmett and Jasper took the other big room. Bella's mom was taking a small guestroom on the second floor with Jodie, so we got the third floor all to ourselves for an entire week.

Bella, Alice and Rose walked into our room, and we all hung out for a while. Jodie brought up the hot chocolate, and we planned out what we were going to do the next day. Bella's phone started to ring, and her face lit up immediately. She answered, and ran downstairs. We followed her, and I couldn't help but laugh. It was hilarious. The doorbell rang, and she ran to answer it.

When she opened the door, she was attacked by about 4 people throwing her into hugs. She was so hyper, hugging them right back, and screaming. "GUYS! I MISSED YOU SOOOOOO MUCH!", she yelled. She turned around, and lead them over to us. "Guys, this is Rose, Alice, Jasper, and Edward. You already know Emmett. This is Emma, Karen, Sam, and Jack." I said hi to them, and they welcomed us. Karen said something to Bella, and Bella replied, and got a huge smile on her face. "Guys, how would you like to go hang out downtown and see a movie? Trust me, it'll be a lot of fun," Bella asked. Alice said yes immediately, and Emmett ran to the kitchen to tell his mom and aunt that we were going. He came back, and grabbed his coat. I guessed that since he was doing that, that it was ok, so we all went to get our stuff, and we headed out the door.

I talked to Jack and Karen while we walked. They seemed to be pretty cool. They were going out, and were Bella's best friends when she lived here. Emma and Sam were going out, too. They were talking to Jasper and Alice. The walk to downtown Evanston didn't take that long at all. We were probably about three blocks away from it.

When we got to the theater, I was in awe. It was packed, and there were about 15 new movies playing, which is a huge amount compared to the small theater in Forks. We decided on watching the Changeling with Angelina Jolie. I heard that it was a pretty good movie. We got our tickets, and headed over to the snack area, which was just as packed. Alice and Emma went to scope out some seats while we got the food.

I was waiting in line looking at the candy when I felt a little nudge on my arm. I turned to see a smiling Bella. "Hey, you. So….how are you liking my old friends? There's tons more that you need to meet, but they were the ones that you had to meet first. They were my life back here!" She laughed, and waited for my response. "They seem cool! Not as cool as you of course, but I think ill get along with them, if that's what you mean," I said.

Bella waited for me in line, and together, we gathered with everyone else, and walked into the movie room.

**A/N:**

**Chaptitre dix, mes amies. **

**J'adore la chanson, Show Me What I'm Looking For by Carolina Liar. C'est tres beau. **

**The reason that I chose that song was because I saw it live at the concert that Bella mentioned. I went last thursday =]**

**It was fun.**

**Enjoy.**

**I'll TRY to update soon, but no promises. I've got alot of busy schoolwork that needs completion. **


	11. Chapter 11: Bedshaped

**BPOV**

As good as the movie was, and it was amazing, it was extremely depressing. Two hours of me crying my eyes out, basically. Luckily, Edward chose to sit next to me, and he lent his shoulder for me to cry on. It was nice. He shared his soda with me, too. I was just happy when the movie ended.

After the movie, we all rushed outside to go to some of the other shops. I looked around the heart of downtown, and smiled when I saw all of the Christmas decorations that are up every year. I was going to miss them. I looked at Alice, and she was beaming. I nudged her, and asked her if she was ok. "Yeah, I'm fine, I just haven't seen such amazing Christmas decorations before. Forks never goes all out like this!" I laughed, and nodded. Evanston had wreathes up at every post, and Christmas lights illuminating the streets. Every store window was decorated with holiday knick-knacks, and the whole atmosphere was just amazing. We all started to walk around, talking about possible plans for the week. I looked at my phone, and it was 9. Rose told me that since Christmas was tomorrow, that we should try to get as much sleep as possible. We were all going to help Jodie set up the decorations tomorrow, so I agreed. We all started to head back to the house.

When we got there, Emma, Karen, Jack and Sam walked us up the path. We were met at the door by my mother, who invited them inside for some snacks. We all huddled into the kitchen to warm up, and we sat down at the table. I took everyone's coat, and hung them up in the coat closet near the front door. On my way back to the kitchen, I glanced into the living room, and noticed that Aunt Jodie had a huge grand piano. It was beautiful. I hadn't seen it before, so it had to be new. I walked up to it, forgetting about everyone in the kitchen, and I began to play some random keys, improvising a song. I heard some people shuffling in behind me, and Jodie sat next to me on the bench. "Like it? Your grandmother gave it to me for my Birthday." I just nodded, and continued to play. I played Piano for 6 years, and I never lost any of what I learned. I was pretty good if I do say so myself, so I started to rock out while playing, closing my eyes, and moving to the music. My little performance caused Jodie to laugh, and I heard some more people shuffling into the room behind us. I looked back to see all of my friends and mom sit down in the chairs and couch behind the piano. Jodie got up, and Edward took her place besides me. He told me that I was really good, and wondered if I knew any other songs.

"You know, Bella, I play Piano too." He smiled when he said this, and pressed down on a few keys. I turned to look down at the keys, and asked him if he wanted to play a duet. He grinned a huge grin, and I almost melted into the seat. I didn't want to react too much, because everyone would probably think that I was crazy. All I did in response was begin to play a few chords of Bedshaped by Keane, thinking that he might know the song as well. Almost immediately, he joined in, and we began to play.

To say that we sounded great together was a complete understatement. In my opinion, we were better than the band that originally sang the song! When it was time for the words to come in, I began to sing.

_Manys the time I walked with you down_

_The rainy roads of our old town_

_Many the lives we lived in each day_

_And buried all together_

_Don't laugh at me_

_Don't look away_

_you'll follow me back with the sun in your eyes and on your own_

_bed shaped and legs of stone_

_You'll knock on my door and up we'll go _

_In white light, I don't think so_

_But what do I know? _

_What do I know?_

When it came for the second verse, Edward cut me off and began to sing. His voice was low, but he hit each note perfectly. He had an amazing voice, and I was almost blown away. At this point, everyone was enjoying the great music, and having fun. Emmett and Rose were slow dancing near the door, and Jasper and Alice were huddled up on the couch, with their eyes closed. Edward continued.

_I know you think your holding me down_

_And I'm fallen by the way you said now_

_And I don't understand the same things as you_

_But I do_

_Don't laugh at me_

_Don't look away_

_Your following me back with the sun in your eyes, and on your own_

_Bedshaped with legs of stone_

_You'll knock on my door, and up we'll go_

_In white light, I don't think so_

_But what do I know?_

_What do I know? _

_I know._

During the instrumentals at this part of the song, I closed my eyes, and kept playing. Edward started to go crazy on the keys, too. I opened my eyes to see his fingers dance across the ivory, and he looked at me with very strong emotion in his eyes. I have never felt so close to him before this moment. It was like we were the only people in the world. We began to sing together at this point.

_Oh, and up we'll go_

_In white light, I don't think so_

_But what do I know?_

_What do I know?_

_I know._

And the song was over.

Everyone stood up to cheer for us, and I just stared at Edward. He stared right back, and eventually gave me his crooked grin, and winked at me. If I melted before, now I had evaporated, and was rising up to the clouds. I was in heaven as he stared into my eyes, and all I could do was grin. I was pulled out of my trance by Alice, so wanted me to play another song.

Edward got up, and went to the bathroom. I stayed at the piano, and played a few more songs for everyone, before Jodie felt that it was time to go to bed. Emma, Karen, Sam and Jack left, and we all made plans to hang out the day after Christmas, since the next two days was going to be taken up by family.

I walked into our room to find Emmett and Rose in the middle of an intense make-out session on Rose's bed. "Dudes, come on. Really? Can't you move that somewhere else, like, I don't know, Your room Emmett? I need to get ready for bed," I complained. Emmett groaned, and he eventually got off of Rose. With one more peck on the lips, he left, muttering something about privacy. I laughed at his back when he left, and fell down onto my bed, closing my eyes, and thinking about Edward.

"Bella, what was that earlier? I have NEVER seen you or Edward so alive before!," Rose asked, sitting up. I turned to my side to face her, and replied. "I can't explain it, Rose. It was like we were the only people in the world, and that we were meant to play together. I have never felt so connected to someone than I had felt with Edward. It was amazing. He's really good at piano! Did you know that?" She just laughed, and nodded. "Yeah, The piano is his second love. I think that you may be his first, just saying. I know how you feel about him." I rolled my eyes, and threw my pillow at her. "What? Im serious! Bella, did you not see the way he looked at you today? If I didn't say this before, Ill say it now. He has got it BAD, girl! Stop denying it! Make a move already!" She threw her arms in front of her face, shielding herself just in case I were to throw another pillow at her. I didn't, though. Instead, I grabbed my bag of toiletries and some pajamas, and headed off to the bathroom to get ready for bed.

When I got to the bathroom, the door was closed, and I could hear a shower turn off inside. I waited outside the room, because whoever just took a shower, would be done soon. After a few minutes, the door opened, revealing Edward with wet hair, no shirt, wearing just a pair of old pajama bottoms. The excess water on his body made him glisten, and the steam coming from the bathroom made him look godly. When he saw me, he leaned against the doorframe, and looked me in the eye, rubbing a hand through his hair. "Hey," he said.

"Right back at you,", I said, giving him a smile. Truth was, I was about to hyperventilate. I was rooted to the floor, and I think that I forgot my own name. He just straightened up, and walked past me, his arm lightly brushing my shoulder, leaving the skin where he touched me burn from the contact.

After I got all of my prep for bed done, I walked into the room to find Alice and Rose asleep in their beds. I got into mine quietly, and headed off to dreamland. Before I fell asleep, I began to think. I was pretty sure that I could now say that I loved Edward. A lot. And, I was determined to make something happen between us on the trip. At least, I hoped that something would happen. Nothing would be better right now! That would be the ultimate Christmas present.

**A/N:**

**Sorry about the short chapter, Everyone!**

**The song used is Bedshaped by Keane. Excellent song, if I do say so myself.**

**I would like to thank all of my wonderful reviewers for this story. My inbox was filled today with notifications telling me of all the people that put my story on story alert and they're favorite stories list, and I couldn't stop grinning when I read all the reviews I got. **

**Im just really glad that everyone seems to like it so much =]**

**The next update will be up soon.**


	12. Chapter 12: Christmas Eve

**BPOV**

I woke up late the next morning, which surprised me. It was Christmas Eve, and I would have thought that Alice or Rose would have woken me up earlier to get ready for dinner later.

There were a lot of people coming over later for dinner. On top of Alice, Rose, Emmett, Jasper, Edward, Aunt Jodie and Mom, we had different aunts and uncles, grandparents, and cousins coming as well. Altogether, there was going to be about 19 other people coming over for dinner. Aunt Jodie was going to spend practically all day in the kitchen, and we were all going to decorate the house and clean up for the party.

I walked downstairs, and found Jasper and Emmett in the kitchen with Aunt Jodie. "Good morning, Bella! Sleep well I hope? You had a long day yesterday," Aunt Jodie asked me as I sat down to join them at the table. "I slept great, thanks. Where is everyone else?", I asked.

"Well, Your mother took Alice and Rose to get some decorations for the house, Edward is still asleep from what I hear.", she answered. I stood up and stretched, walking over to the counter to pour myself some coffee.

"Bella, since there are going to be a lot of people here tonight, are you interested in being our entertainer later? Just play the piano for our guests when they get here, like you used to do." I nodded, and took a sip, giving her a thumbs up. Before we moved, I always played Christmas songs on the piano for my family while they were here. It was fun, and I loved doing it. It set a jolly mood for the occasion.

I spent the rest of the morning in the kitchen helping Aunt Jodie prepare, and when Edward woke up he took my place. I went into the living room to help everyone else unpack the Christmas decorations that Rose, Alice and mom brought back. Looking around at everyone, I discovered something. We were missing something…something big. I just couldn't put my finger on it. Oh, right. A TREE. Almost immediately I ran upstairs to change into something warmer, and I grabbed some of my cash.

I walked into the kitchen to get the car keys from Aunt Jodie, and she asked me where I was going. When I told her that she didn't have a tree, she slapped her forehead, and said "Shit! I knew I forgot something. You remember where the place is? On Green Bay?", she asked. I nodded, and headed for the back door. Right before I was about to go, Edward stopped me. "Can I come with? You may need some help." I told him that I would love for him to come, that Its nice to have company. We walked into the front room, and he grabbed his stuff. While we were walking out, we saw Alice outside with Jasper. She saw us going, and automatically wanted to come with us when we told her that we were getting a tree. I had no choice but to let her come, but I really wanted to spend some alone time with Edward.

We got into the car, and I jammed the key into the ignition, and pulled away. Edward sat in the passenger seat, and he was talking to Alice. I turned up the radio, and sped off towards Wilmette, which is the town next to Evanston where we always get our trees.

Alice didn't seem to like what I was listening to on the radio, so she hooked up her Ipod, and we began to listen to Check Yes Juliet by We The Kings. I liked this song, so of course I started to sing along with it. Alice joined too, and Edward was laughing at us. We didn't care, though.

We continued to sing and drive, and I filled them in on the family members that they would meet later. We got there soon, and I parked next to the entrance. The place was packed, I guess that we weren't the only people that needed a last minute tree. We all got out of the car, and walked into the place.

Alice got a call from Rose when we walked in, so she strayed off to talk to her. Edward and I started to walk around, looking at the trees. I pointed some out, and so did Edward. When we found one that we both liked, we waited in front of it for Alice.

I called her, and told her where to meet us. She said that she would grab one of the attendants and meet us there in a few minutes. When I got off the phone, I caught Edward staring at me, with a hard face. "What?," I asked, and almost immediately, he looked away, and his face softened. He looked like he was nervous about something. "Bella, can I ask you something?", he asked, looking me dead in the eye. I nodded.

"Well, I don't really know how to say this.", he said, looking at the ground. I pulled his chin up with two fingers, and made him look me in the eye. "Edward, just say it." He closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. "Bella, I-", before he was cut off by Alice shrieking at the tree. "Oh my gosh, you guys! It's perfect!"

Me and Edward took a step away from each other, and I looked at him. He looked pained. I put my hand on his arm, and said "Edward, tell me later, ok? When no ones here to interrupt us." He nodded, and took my hand, pulling it up to his face, and murmuring against my hand, "Ok."

The attendant took down the tree for us, and I handed him a 50 and told him to keep the change. He was happy, and I was happy. It was the season of giving, after all. Actually, I just wanted to get home as fast as I could so I could get ready. The attendant helped us bring the tree to the car, and he and Edward strapped it to the roof. Alice and I got in, and Alice started freaking out. "Bella, I'm so sorry! I hope that I didn't interrupt a special moment between you guys. I realized how close you were after I brought the attendant. What was going on, anyway?" I told her to relax, and I told her that Edward was going to tell me something. When I told her this, her mouth dropped open. "Godamnit! I hate my timing. He was going to tell you he likes you! I just know it."

Edward opened the passenger door, and told us that he needed to use the restroom and that he would be right back. We both nodded, and Alice took advantage of this. Before she could say anything else, though, I cut in. "Alice. Relax. You don't know that he was going to tell me that he likes me, so please, stop jumping to conclusions. Besides. If I begin to think that in the least bit that he does like me, and he tells me something completely different later, Im going to be crushed. So please, Don't give me any false hope." As I said this, her eyes practically bugged right out of her head. "Bella! He DOES like you. No, He doesn't even like you. He LOVES you." I turned around to face her, giving her a death glare. "You don't know that, Alice! Stop." As soon as I said this, she erupted. "Yes, Bella. I do know this! HE TOLD ME HIMSELF!" Right when she said this, she covered her mouth with her hands. I didn't even realize this, though. Right when she said that, it was like my whole world stopped. I couldn't hear anything. I was in shock. "Oh, god, Bella! Shit, I can't believe I just told you that. I promised him. Bella, you CANT tell anyone that I told you! Especially not Edward!" All I did was subtly nod, not saying anything. Was she telling the truth? Did Edward really tell her that he loved me? Why couldn't he tell me himself? What was going to happen now? Was I going to let him wait to tell me himself, or should I make the first move? I can't make the first move, it's practically impossible for me. What if Alice was wrong, though? What if she just told me that so that I could make a move first, and Edward doesn't really feel the same way? I was extremely confused. I leaned back in my seat, and buried my face in my hands. Alice was sitting in the backseat, apparently worried about my state. "Bella…..are you okay? Bella, say something!" With that, she began to shake me. She stopped suddenly when I heard the door next to me open, and Edward sat down. I uncovered my face, and stared at him. He looked worried, and asked me if I was okay. I gave him a little nod, and jammed the key into the ignition. I saw Edward look back and ask Alice something, and in the rearview mirror, I saw Alice shrug, and look me in the eye. Her face was pleading. Now, I really needed to get home. I needed to think.

For some reason, when I was in the car with Edward, just knowing what Alice told me gave me this feeling. It was hard to explain, it was like a pull. The atmosphere in the car was definitely different, and I felt like I needed to be near Edward. He was my safety. The feeling scared me. Just before, I felt extremely calm and relaxed. Now, my insides felt like they were in a knot. I could barely concentrate on driving, which I realized when I almost ran a stop sign. I opened my window, and took a deep breath when we got to a red light. Edward again asked me if I was ok, and I told him that it was just that I had a lot of stuff to do before tonight, and I was dreading it. He snickered, and Alice sat in the back quietly. I glanced back at her, and she looked like she was in some other form of shock. I wondered why she would be acting like that so much, but then a thought hit me.

I was worried before that Alice didn't mean what she said, and that she didn't know what she was talking about. Now, she seemed very aware. Very distant, like she knew she made an awful mistake. Maybe she wasn't lying, and maybe Edward really did tell her that he loves me. Why else would she be acting this way? She probably feels horrible that she betrayed Edward's trust like that. I had to smile at this thought. Not that she can't be trusted with secrets, but at the thought that he loved me. Like I love him. I wish that he would have been the one to tell me, but I planned on pretending that I had no clue. He would tell me himself when he was ready. I just hoped that he would be ready soon.

We pulled into the drive way soon after, and we got out of the car. I helped Edward bring the tree in, and we set it up next to the piano. The living room looked great. The walls were lined with Red and White tinsel, and the fireplace was going. The room looked like it was about to explode with holiday spirit, and the one thing to top it off was the tree. Jasper brought a box of tree decorations up from the basement, and we all attacked it. In a matter of about 30 minutes, I was laying my eyes on the most beautiful tree that I had ever laid eyes on. Emmett and Rose had the honor of putting the star on it, so Emmett picked her up, and she placed it gently on the top. Alice went and plugged in the lights. All of a sudden, the room lit up like there was not tomorrow. Aunt Jodie came in with a box of gingerbread cookies, and laid them out on a platter on top of the piano. She, Rose and my mother went into the kitchen to keep cooking, and everyone else went upstairs to get dressed. The guests would be here in a matter of three hours.

I grabbed my red satin dress, and a white headband and headed for the bathroom. I took a quick shower, and blow dried my hair. I put on some light makeup that Alice would approve of, and put my dress on. I then went back to the room, to find Alice and Rose choosing what they wanted to wear. When I walked in, they freaked out. I did a pirouette, and they clapped. "Bella, your so pretty!", they both said at the same time, and I just had to laugh at that. I thanked them, and went to find some shoes to wear. I found some black ballerinas with a small bow on each one, and slipped those on over some white tights. Alice wore a forest green dress with thin spaghetti straps and a brown crocheted sweater over it with a pair of black heels. Rose was a vision in a white knee length strapless dress with a black wrap sweater over it. She wore some red Mary Jane's. They rushed to do their hair and makeup, and I headed downstairs to find that some of my cousins had already arrived.

When I walked into the living room, I saw my cousin Stacey sitting on the couch with my Aunt Sarah. They both rose when they saw me, and rushed over to give me a hug. I hadn't seen them all year, and It was nice to see them again. We talked about Forks, and Stacey wanted to know about the guys there. She was a year younger than I was, and we used to be super close. I asked her where her sister, Janette was, and she said that she was hanging some mistletoe around the house. That was a sweet idea, I thought. Maybe I would get lucky tonight, and get Edward under some…but that Idea escaped me immediately when Aunt Jodie called me into the kitchen. I went, and she opened a cabinet up in the shelves, and handed me three music books. The first one was a book of Christmas songs, another was a book of Beatles' songs, and the third was a book filled with other popular songs. I needed a variety if I was going to be playing tonight, so I thanked her and walked back into the living room. Stacey was talking to Jasper and Alice, and Emmett and Edward were talking to Rose and Aunt Sarah on the couch. It was good to see that they were all getting along. I set the books on the piano, and opened the third book of songs to a familiar one. I began to play, and more people began to arrive.

_Imagine there's no heaven_

_It's easy if you try_

_No hell below us_

_Above us only sky_

_Imagine all the people living for today_

_Imagine there's no countries_

_It isn't hard to do_

_Nothing to kill or die for_

_No religion too_

_Imagine all the people living life in peace_

_You may say I'm a dreamer_

_But I'm not the only one_

_I hope some day you will join us_

_And the world will live as one_

_Imagine no possessions_

_I wonder if you can _

_No greed or hunger_

_A brotherhood of man_

_Imagine all the people sharing all the world_

_You may say I'm a dreamer _

_But I'm not the only one_

_I hope some day you will join us_

_And the world will live as one_

I got an applause from everyone when I finished playing it. I always loved that song. It was perfect to play at Christmas, because It's a song about how if everyone loved and cared for each other, the world would be a better place. Christmastime is the time when that happens most. I just love it. I opened up another book, the Beatle's one, and began to play the song Let It Be, and Alice sang this one for me. She had a beautiful voice.

_When I find myself in times of trouble_

_Mother Mary comes to me_

_Speaking words of wisdom_

_Let it be_

_And in my hour of darkness, she is standing right in front of me_

_Speaking words of wisdom_

_Let it be_

_Let it be, Let it be_

_Let it be, let it be_

_Whisper words of wisdom, Let it be_

_And when the broken hearted people _

_Living in this world agree_

_There will be an answer, let it be_

_For though they may be parted_

_There is still a chance that they will see_

_There will be an answer, Let it be_

_Let it be, let it be_

_Let it be, let it be_

_There will be an answer, let it be_

_Let it be, Let it be_

_Let it be, Let it be_

_Whisper words of wisdom, Let it be_

_Let it be, Let it be_

_Let it be, let it be_

_Whisper words of wisdom, Let it be_

_And when the night is cloudy_

_There is still a light that shines on me_

_Shine until tomorrow, Let it be_

_I wake up to the sound of music_

_Mother Mary comforts me_

_Speaking words of wisdom, Let it be_

_Let it be, Let it be_

_Let it be, let it be_

_There will be an answer, Let it be_

_Let it be, Let it be_

_Let it be, yeah, let it be_

_Whisper words of wisdom, let it be_

**EPOV**

Bella played the piano beautifully. She was just so musically talented! It amazed me. She got up after playing let it be to go greet her grandparents that had just arrived, and I walked over to the piano. I remembered the song that I wrote for her back when she was missing in Forks, and I began to play. More people had began to arrive, and a lot of people began to crowd around the piano. I stretched out the song to as far as I could play it, and when I was done, Bella was in the crowd of family that was watching me.

When I got up, Alice walked in. She pulled me out of the room, and dragged me upstairs. "I have to tell you something," she said. I followed her up to her room, and I sat down on Bella's bed. "What do you need to tell me?", I asked.

"Well, please don't be too mad. I screwed up. Big time." She sat down across from me, and held her pillow to her stomach. She looked scared. "Alice, just spit it out, " I said. She closed her eyes, and took in a deep breath. "I sort of told Bella that you love her. It slipped out earlier today, Edward I'm so, so sorry…" she said, hiding her face in her hands. I didn't react. I was paralyzed. Bella knew that I love her. Alice told her. Bella knows how I feel. Oh god. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. NO!!!!!

"ALICE! I TRUSTED YOU! HOW COULD YOU DO THAT?", I said. She sunk down onto the floor, and kept hiding her face in her hands. " What am I supposed to tell her now? What am I supposed to do? Oh god, Alice. Was that why she was acting so weird in the car earlier? Shit. SHIT. CRAP. SHIT. I knew that she didn't like me back. Why else would she act like that? Oh god, Alice, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?", I said, and I ran out of the room. I needed to find Jasper or Emmett, and fast. This is a disaster.

When I ran downstairs, everyone else had arrived. Someone was playing the Piano in the living room, and I was guessing that it was Bella. I didn't dare go in, though. I couldn't face her. Not yet.

I walked into the kitchen to find Emmett in a passionate embrace with Rosalie. "Jeez, guys. Can you put aside eating each others faces off for two seconds? Emmett, I need to talk to you. Badly." As I said this, I stormed right up to them and pulled Emmett away from Rose. I pulled him outside, where no one was there to hear us. "Bella knows. Alice told her. Emmett, I don't know what to do. I'm freaking out here." I was practically hyperventilating when I said this. Emmett just stood there, mouth agape. "She knows? Dude, that sucks. Did you talk to her?", he asked. I shook my head. "I don't know HOW I'm going to talk to her now. What if she doesn't like me back? Emmett, I care about her so much. I can't lose her over this. Emmett, I know its awkward for you to hear this, but I'm really in love with her. What should I do?" I was on the ground at this point. The patio was shoveled, so I didn't get any snow on my shirt or dress pants. Emmett gave me his arm, and pulled me up. "You need to talk to her, dude. And fast."

Right when he said this, we heard a yelp coming from behind the bushes. Emmett and I rushed over to find Bella on the ground, inspecting a hole in her dress. She must have tore it on the bush. I stared down at her in shock. She must have heard our entire conversation. Emmett stood there awkwardly, and pretended that he heard Rose calling for him, so he ran back off into the house. I envied him so, so much.

"Jeez, Bella. Are you okay?", I asked, holding out my hand to help her up. She stared up at me, with a weird look on her face. It looked like she was nervous. She took my hand, and I pulled her up. "Thanks," she said under her breath. Great. She hated me. What was I supposed to do now? "Your welcome," I said a little coldly, and we just stared at each other. I was the first to move, turning around to head back for the house. "You might want to change into another dress, Bella." I said, about to walk away, when I heard her say my name. She didn't just say it, though. It sounded like she was pleading my name.

"Edward, wait. Please." She grabbed my hand and turned me around. She looked up into my eyes, and just stared. She was beautiful. Amazingly beautiful. It took me all of my strength not to jump her with my mouth right then and there. She pulled me out of my trance when she spoke. "Did you mean it?", she asked. I couldn't read her facial expression. "Mean what, Bella?", I replied, still staring at her. "You know," she said. "Bella, what are you talking about?" I said. I was getting extremely anxious. She was making this night extremely hard on me.

I guess that I said that a little harshly, because the next thing I knew she had a tear falling from her eye, and she stalked right past me, heading for the house. She was holding the hole in her dress, and it looked as if she were about to break down. I couldn't take it, so I ran right after her.

I caught up to her when we were in front of the door. "Bella, Wait." I said. She turned around, and I saw the tears running down her face. "Yes. I meant it. Every word." She stared up at me, her eyes glistening. She didn't say anything. She just stared. I got a little scared. "Bella, Please. Say something," I said, cupping her face in my hands, and wiped away her tears with my thumbs. She closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. She looked up, and her eyes grew wide. I followed her stare, and what I saw scared the shit out me. In the best way possible, of course. We were standing in the doorway, under a bouquet of mistletoe that her cousins put up. I looked down at her, and she was looking me dead in the eyes with a look of what looked like…..passion? I didn't wait for her to say something. My hands were still cupping her face, and I pulled her face to mine, kissing her roughly on the lips. She responded immediately, wrapping her arms around my neck, and winding her fingers in my hair, pulling me closer.

It was pure bliss. It was more than that, It was heaven. I have never felt anything so wonderful in my life. I felt like I never lived before this kiss. She moaned into my mouth, and giggled, sending wonderful vibrations through my body. I traced my tongue across her bottom lip, asking for permission to kiss her more deeply than I have ever kissed someone. She granted me permission immediately, and I picked her up, sliding my tongue into her mouth. Our tongues battled for dominance, and she let me win. She began to nibble on my bottom lip, and I got scared that if we didn't stop now, that I wouldn't be able to control myself. Right when I was about to pull away, we heard someone cough from behind us. We broke apart immediately, straightening ourselves out. Jodie stood there, with her hands on her hips, snickering to herself. "I knew it," she muttered under her breath. "Come on, lovebirds. Dinner." She walked back inside, smiling to herself.

I looked at Bella, and she was looking at me with a huge smile on her face. She gave me one last peck, before running inside and upstairs to change into a new dress. I couldn't move. Did that really happen? She didn't pull away. But, she didn't say anything either. That didn't matter, though. I kissed Bella. Hard. Passionately. It was the best experience of my life. I looked up, and smiled, looking at the wonderful plant that allowed me to do that. It was official: Christmas was my new favorite holiday. I grabbed the mistletoe, and shoved it in my pocket. I was going to keep it forever. I walked into the dining room then to join everyone.

**A/N:**

**Chapter 12! Whoo!**

**I went to the midnight showing of Twilight last night. It was amazing =]**

**The songs used in this chapter are Imagine by John Lennon, and Let It Be by the Beatles.**

**If any of you got confused by this part, Green Bay road is a huge road in Evanston where you can find the place that sells christmas trees. Yeah.**

**This chapter made me all jittery! I feel an update by...sunday? Does that sound good you you lovely people?**

**If it does, you should review, give me a little inspiration. **

**Love you all!**

**~Hannah**


	13. Chapter 13: Merry Christmas!

**BPOV**

I got a call from my friend Colin during the party, and I rushed outside to answer it. He seemed rushed, apparently he was at dinner too, but wanted to call me to say hi and try to make plans.

"Sorry if I'm interrupting anything, Bells. It's just that I just remembered that you were in town for the week, and I was scared that I wouldn't have remembered to call you later! It was now, or never."

"Colin, relax! Don't worry about it, Jodie took over my piano duty for me to talk to you. We're still waiting for everyone."

I started to walk around her garden, trying to step carefully so I didn't trip and fall into the snow. Colin continued to talk.

"So, Bella. I heard from Emma that you brought a bunch of friends with you…and that you seemed awfully cozy with a certain, and I quote, 'Bronze haired Greek God'? Care to explain?"

"Yeah, she was talking about Edward. I brought him, his sister Alice, her boyfriend Jasper, and his sister, who just so happens to be dating Emmett."

"So, it sounds to me like everyone is paired up. Are you and Edward together?"

"Well, no…not exactly. Alice told me that he loves me, that he told her himself, but I don't know. I didn't want to make a huge deal about it, you know, just because he didn't say it, she did. Im trying not to freak out too much."

"Well, did you talk to him about it?"

"No, not yet. I didn't want to do it now, I mean, it's Christmas Eve, for Christ's sake."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. You know, I told Allie I loved her on Christmas. We've been happy since." Allie is Colin's girlfriend. They have been going out since 8th grade, and they are still extremely happy. They were two of my favorite people on the face of this earth.

Colin continued to talk. "You know, Bella. If you and Eddie boy end up hooking up, then we could double before you go! I'm sure Allie would love that. We could hang at the rocks!"

"Sure, that sounds great…one problem. Edward and I aren't going out…at least not yet. All I can do is hope, though."

"Ah, so does that mean that you like him?"

"Well, yeah. I do. A lot. More than I've ever liked someone before. I love him, actually. That's the reason that I was in shock when Alice told me. It was like my world had stopped. In the best possible way, of course."

"Yeah, well, that's love! Keep me updated, alright? Ill try to call you again before you go. Probably not tomorrow, tomorrow I'm going to be attached to all of the family that I didn't get to see today. Fun."

"Yeah, I'll probably spend my day at home with everyone. Tell your mom I say hi! Merry Christmas, Colin!"

"Right back at you, Bellsy."

With that, I hung up. I had strayed to the back of the yard, and I was admiring Aunt Jodie's roses behind her rose bush while talking to Colin. I forgot how much time had passed.

I was about to head back inside, when I heard the door open. I glanced towards the house, and Edward came out, dragging Emmett behind. He looked extremely flustered. Then he began to flip out.

"Bella knows. Alice told her. Emmett, I don't know what to do. I'm freaking out here," he said. Again, my heart practically stopped. Alice was telling the truth!

"She knows? Dude, that sucks! Did you talk to her?", Emmett replied to him, patting Edward's hyperventilating form on the back.

Edward started to shake his head. He looked really distraught. "I don't know HOW I'm going to talk to her now. What if she doesn't like me back?" That was stupid. He must be blind not to realize that I don't like him back. According to Alice, the whole world knows.

"Emmett, I care about her so much. I can't lose her over this." Aww, that was so sweet! He must really care if he's freaking out about it this much.

At this point, I could barely contain my emotions. I felt like I was on top of the world. Alice was right. We liked each other.

"Emmett, I know its awkward for you to hear this, but I'm really in love with her. What should I do?" Then, he fell to his knees, and put his face in his hands.

Oh. My. God. My world stopped, yet again. I vaguely heard Emmett say something else, but I couldn't hear it. I couldn't hear anything.

My world started to turn. I felt lightheaded. I felt like I was floating, and punched in the stomach at the same time. I closed my eyes, and I saw Edward's face.

I must have been really out of it, because the next thing I knew, I was falling. I fell into the rosebushes, and before I could stop myself, I yelled out. I came back to my senses, and realized what I have done. I looked down at my dress, and there was a huge hole in it. It tore on a rose thorn. I started to inspect it, it hurt.

Edward and Emmett both ran over to me, and Edward stopped dead in his tracks. His eyes were huge, and Emmett realized that I had heard their conversation.

Emmett looked towards the house, and pretended that Rose was calling him. He then ran away from us, and into the house, leaving me alone with Edward.

"Jeez, Bella. Are you okay?", he asked, offering me his hand. I was in shock again. What the hell was I supposed to say?

"Thanks," I muttered under my breath after he pulled me up. I looked at the ground when I said it.

"Your welcome," he replied, a little coldly. Oh god. Was he mad at me? Was he mad at me for listening to them?

I looked up at him, and he looked right back. After a few moments, he spoke. "You might want to go change into another dress, Bella," and he almost turned to walk away. No shit, Sherlock, I thought to myself. Nice observation.

"Edward, wait. Please," I said out of nowhere. He stopped, and turned around to face me. There were a million thoughts running through my mind at this point, and I didn't know where to begin. I thought a second for something innocent to say, and decided on saying it.

"Did you mean it?", I asked with the best poker face that I could imagine. I watched him, and I saw his jaw clench and his body stiffen. He looked like a deer in headlights.

"Mean what, Bella?" he said. Oh, so he was going to play that game. Wow, real mature.

"You know," I said, narrowing my eyes.

I didn't expect him to be so blunt with what he said next. "Bella, what are you talking about?", he said. A wave of hatred passed through me momentarily, and I couldn't say anything else. I was just embarrassing myself now. If he didn't want to come to terms and just tell me that he loved me, If I wasn't worth it, then I wasn't going to push him. A traitor tear rolled down my face, and I mentally kicked myself. I was making myself look so vulnerable.

I shook my head, and wiped the tear from my cheek, blushing a bright red. I covered my mouth with my hand, and tried my hardest to prevent the tears from pouring down my cheek. I wasn't being very successful, so I trudged right past him, heading for the door.

I grabbed the hold in my dress, and squeezed tightly, trying to get let some of my emotions out. I was breaking down fast, and I needed to lie down. I didn't care if I had family over. I couldn't face anything.

I didn't hear him run up behind me until he grabbed my wrist. He forcefully turned me around, and cupped my face in his hands, pushing me back against the arch in the doorway.

He started to wipe my tears off with his thumbs, and then he spoke the words that turned my entire life around. "Yes, I meant it. Every word."

I couldn't believe my ears. I felt like crying again, but In a good way. My ears started to water, but tears didn't fall. I looked up above us, and what I saw scared the shit out me. In the best possible way. Mistletoe. That Janette had hung up earlier.

Edward's eyes followed my gaze, and when he saw what we were under, he looked back down at me, stiffening up, and then tensing again. His eyes were like a black hole to me now. They were incredible. They were burning. They were intense with an emotion that looked like….passion?

The next thing I knew, his lips came crashing down on mine. The moment made time stop for me.

I was floating in the sky, gliding through the clouds. I was running through a field filled with all of my favorite flowers, and the smell emitting from them was Edward's scent. I saw colors, and fireworks, and I heard music. It was like I could hear angel's singing in my ear.

Edward held me tight to him, and I responded immediately. It was pure bliss. I snaked my arms around his neck, and he lifted me up off the ground, running his tongue along my bottom lip, asking for permission to enter. I granted him access by opening my mouth and snaking my tongue out to meet his.

Our tongues battled for dominance, and I just pressed my body even closer to him. I was losing track of time, and I didn't care.

The next thing I knew, we heard a cough coming from beside us. We broke apart immediately to find Aunt Jodie standing in the doorway with a washcloth and apron in her hands.

She rolled her eyes, and murmured something that I didn't catch. "Come on, Lovebirds. Dinner." and with that, she went back inside. All I could do was stand there looking up at Edward and smiling the hugest grin that I ever had on my face. I realized that I still had to change, so I reached up and gave him a chaste kiss before going back inside, looking back at him still smiling. I stumbled on a chair, and caught myself on it, klutzily walking backwards and chuckling, throwing him a small smile and a wave before running up the stairs.

I got to my room as soon as I could, and I started to dance around. I was too happy not to!

I kept dancing until I tripped on the leg of my cot, falling onto the cot. I lied there, looking up at the ceiling, recalling every memory of every feeling of that kiss. Christmas was my new favorite holiday.

I ran to the closet that I shared with Rose and Alice, and pulled out a new outfit.

I had only brought one dress with me, and that was the one that was torn. I started to dig through my closet until I found my old pair of dark wash skinny jeans.

I also picked out one of my nicer shirts. It was light navy colored silk, with sleeves that ended at the elbow. The torso of the shirt hung loosely, with a crisscrossed pattern at the top. There were beads embroidered on the points of the crisscrosses. It was a beautiful shirt.

I slipped it on with the jeans, and put on my same ballerina flats that I was wearing earlier.

Alice came into my room when I was pulling a leaf out of my hair from the fall.

"Where have you been?", she asked, walking over to help me with the leaves. "And why do you have leaves in your hair?"

I told her the story, and she nearly fainted. "BELLA! I knew it! I KNEW IT!!! Oh, Bella. You owe me BIG time." She finished off with one of her classic Alice grins.

"Yeah, well, we'd better get down to dinner. I wouldn't want to keep everyone waiting!"

We got down to the dining room, and we took our seats. I sat between my mom and grandmother, in the seat next to the end. I looked around, and saw that Alice and Edward were sitting together near the middle of the table, Edward staring at me. I blushed, and looked down at my plate. I smiled a little, and glanced at him. His face was facing down at his plate, but his eyes were tilted in my direction, and he had one of his crooked smiles plastered on his face.

Aunt Jodie came in with the turkey, and we all dug in.

"So Bella, How are you enjoying Forks?", my grandmother asked me while I was spooning some green beans onto my plate.

"I love it there! The only thing is that it's too quiet, and there isn't any huge city, other than Seattle of course, close by. I miss Evanston."

"Well, I'm sure that you'll get used to it! You can come visit anytime you want, you know. There's always room for you and your brother at our house!"

I thanked her, and she started to talk to my Uncle Norman who was sitting opposite myself. I took this opportunity to look at Edward again, who seemed to be in a deep conversation with my cousin Stewart, who was our age. I knew they'd get along.

He glanced at me, and smiled, giving me a small wave, and I smiled back, spearing a slice of turkey onto my fork, and sticking it in my mouth. Alice saw our little connection, and she smiled at me.

Dinner pretty much went as follows. Edward and I would glance at each other every other minute, and smile awkwardly at each other, when we weren't sidetracked in conversation with my family. It was a little funny.

Dinner ended, and everyone migrated to the living room to open presents. People had brought them, and Aunt Jodie stuck them all under the tree. Everyone sat down, and Emmett started to hand out the gifts to everyone. I laid my pile next to me on the floor, and Alice and Rose walked over to help me unwrap them. I felt guilty that they didn't have any presents to open tonight, but they were going to get all of their presents tomorrow morning.

After a few minutes, Everyone had their gifts. I grabbed the top one off the pile, and opened it to find a pair of cute earrings from my Aunt Rose. I thanked her, and reached for the next one.

Altogether, I got 70 dollars in gift cards, a few cd's, a cute sweater, and lots of jewelry. I was happy.

I waited for everyone else to finish, and it didn't take long. My mother and Aunt Sage started to collect all of the garbage, and after everyone was all cleaned up, people started to say their goodbyes.

When everyone had left, I brought my stuff back up to my room, and grabbed the CD's to listen to in the CD player while everyone was getting ready for bed.

Alice finished first, which was surprising because she usually took the longest with showering and getting ready for bed. She sat down next to me, and I grabbed her laptop from off of her night stand. She didn't mind that I used it.

Rose came in eventually, too, and we all started to talk and hang out. I hadn't gotten ready for bed yet, so I got up to go after about an hour. When I left, I turned off the light, and Alice and Rose got into bed and fell asleep.

I took a long shower. It was late, so I was sure that everyone had already gotten to bed and was fast asleep. It was a long day!

In the shower, I reflected on the events of the day. I was really happy, and looking forward to tomorrow a great deal. It was another day that I had to spend with Edward. We needed to talk about what happened earlier, and maybe something good would come out of it.

I was trying to tease him earlier, by not being clingy. I gave him some space, to wind him up and go crazy. I loved messing with him. He seemed uncomfortable today while we were opening presents, his stare at me was one of want. I understood the look, though. He wanted to be next to me. I thought it was sweet.

I got out of the shower, and brushed my teeth. I wasn't that tired, so when I finished, I walked downstairs to the kitchen, and make myself some popcorn.

When the popcorn was done, I walked into the dark living room, and turned on the TV, lying down on the couch, finding a blanket to pull over myself. I began to watch ' The Year Without A Santa Claus.', which I hadn't seen in a few years.

I just lied there, comfortably watching the movie, eating the popcorn. It was nice. I must have been really relaxed, because I fell asleep there.

I woke the next morning to find Aunt Jodie placing presents under the tree.

"Hey," I said groggily, leaning up on my right forearm, rubbing my eyes on the back of my left hand.

"Hey, Kiddo. Why'd you sleep down here? Your cot not good enough?", she laughed, grabbing a candy cane off the tree.

"No, I fell asleep watching some movies," I replied. She nodded her head, and continued to suck on the candy.

I threw the covers off me, and stood up. I started to stretch, and I fell backwards after a feeling of vertigo washed through me. I onto the couch, but when I put my foot back down, I stepped right into the bowl of popcorn that I didn't finish, spilling it all over the carpet.

Aunt Jodie laughed, and I glared at her. "Haha, yeah. Very funny. Help me get this, will you?" With that, she went to get the broom and dustpan from out of the closet. We picked up the mess, and went into the kitchen to find Alice sitting on Jasper's lap on the table.

"Morning, guys," I said, pouring myself a cup of coffee. They nodded, and started to converse amongst themselves. I sat down across from them.

"So, Bella. I heard what happened to you and Eddie boy last night. Good for you!", Jasper said, pulling Alice into a tighter hug. I groaned.

"Alice, can you not keep anything to yourself anymore? First you tell me about Edward, then you tell Jasper about us! Seriously. No one can tell you anything anymore!" She looked almost hurt by this.

"Bella, Alice didn't tell me. You're aunt over there did."

My eyes practically bugged out my head.

"WHAT?!" I said, turning around to face her.

Aunt Jodie just smirked a little, and put her coffee down besides her. "What, can you blame me? You two are just so cute together!" I groaned again, going upstairs to change. It was just a matter of time before everyone else was going to find out. Every one In this house had a big mouth.

On my way upstairs, I ran into Edward leaving his room. When he saw me, he smiled. "Morning, Bella," he said, giving me a hug. I hugged him right back. It felt so good for him to be so close to me. It felt right.

"See you downstairs?", I said. He smiled, and nodded, planting a small kiss on my forehead and heading for the bathroom. I stood there a little awestruck. I reached up, and touched my forehead where he kissed me. The are where he did burned a little, in a good way of course.

I walked into my room, and Rosalie was on Alice's computer. I snatched it out of her hands, and snuck my tongue out at her. She whimpered, and I began to play Blister In The Sun by the Violent Femmes on Alice's Itunes, and handed the laptop back. I started to dance my way over to the closet, earning a laugh from Rosalie. I decided to put on a little show for her, swaying my hips, and picking up a hairbrush to use as a microphone as I sang along. Soon she joined me, and we were singing and dancing all over the room until the song stopped. "Merry Christmas, Rose!", I sang.

"Merry Christmas, Bella!" , she replied.

**A/N:**

**Chapter 13! **

**Hope you all enjoyed it.**

**REVIEW!!  
**


	14. Chapter 14: Confessions and Merriment

**BPOV**

_It's the most wonderful time of the year _

_With the kids jingle belling_

_And everyone telling you_

_"Be of good cheer" _

_It's the most wonderful time of the year _

_It's the hap-happiest season of all_

_With those holiday greetings and gay happy meetings _

_When friends come to call _

_It's the hap- happiest season of all _

_There'll be parties for hosting_

_Marshmallows for toastin__g_

_And caroling out in the snow_

_There'll be scary ghost stories _

_And tales of the glories of Christmases long, long ago _

_It's the most wonderful time of the year _

_There'll be much mistltoeing_

_And hearts will be glowing _

_When love ones are near _

_It's the most wonderful time of the year _

_There'll be parties for hosting _

_Marshmallows for toasting _

_And caroling out in the snow _

_There'll be scary ghost stories _

_And tales of the glories of Christmases long, long ago _

_It's the most wonderful time of the year _

_There'll be much mistltoeing_

_And hearts will be glowing _

_When love ones are near _

_I__t's the most wonderful time _

_It's the most wonderful time _

_It's the most wonderful time _

_It's the most wonderful time of the year_

The words of Andy Williams spoke the truth.

Christmas time definitely WAS the most wonderful time of the year.

I walked downstairs with Rosalie after breaking out into fits of laughter.

Everyone was already downstairs waiting for us. Jasper was sitting on the love seat with Alice in his lap, whispering something into his ear, smirking and giggling. They were just too cute for their own good!

Rose went over to join Emmett on the couch, and he lied down with his head in her lap. He closed his eyes, and she started to smile and run her hands through his hair. It was sweet.

I went over and sat next to Edward, who was sitting on the ground next to the tree.

I sat Indian style, and he scooted up closer to me when no one was looking. I looked over at him, and started to joke around.

"God Edward. Have you ever heard of personal space?!", I said sarcastically with a very annoying, high pitched voice.

"No, as a matter of fact, I haven't!" he said, pushing himself onto me, practically sitting in his lap.

"Dude!…..ugh. Whatever." Then we started to laugh, and ruffled his hair.

Aunt Jodie and my mother walked in the room then, walking over to our stockings, and passing them out.

I got mine, and waited for everyone else to get theirs before starting. When everyone had a stocking, I pushed Edward off of me, and started to look at what I had.

The move caught him off guard, and he seemed a little annoyed. I had found a Hershey's kiss in my stocking, and I shoved it into my mouth, looking at Edward who still looked annoyed.

"What?", I said with my mouth full. He then burst out into laughter, falling onto his back, and rolling around on the ground. His laughter was contagious, so I started to laugh too.

"Man, Bella. What was in that kiss?!", Emmett said with a grin. Edward and I instantly froze, looking at him. The Kiss? Oh god. Emmett knew about the kiss.

"I mean, I know you like Chocolate and stuff, but you need to calm down!" OH. He was talking about the Hershey's kiss. That made more sense.

"I guess whatever was in that needle that I injected into it earlier, but hey, who knows what that shit's got in it." That made everyone laugh.

When we all settled down, we continued on. In the stocking, I got some more gift cards, and some cash. I got some lip gloss and eye shadow from Alice, and some sweet smelling lotion from Rosalie. The other stuff I got was just little knick knacks like candy, and a keychain.

Everyone finished fast, and made their own little piles of stuff. When my mom said it was okay, I started to hand out all of the other presents to everyone from under the tree.

I plugged my Ipod into some speakers, and started to play Christmas music from a play list that I had made the day before.

I soon had the gifts passed out, and I sat back down next to Edward, who had already started on opening his.

The first one that I picked up was from Rosalie. She got me Queen's greatest hits on Vinyl. I practically jumped when I saw that. I did.

I ran over to her, and gave her a HUGE hug. "Rosalie! Thanks so much! I ADORE queen. Where did you find the vinyl!?", I asked, still hugging her.

"Nope. It's a gift, silly! That will have to stay my little secret. Now…go back and open your presents before I taunt you a second time!", she said, sounding exactly like John Cleese, referring to the copy of Monty Python and the Holy Grail that I had got her, that she already opened.

I smiled, and gave her another hug. "Glad you like it, Rose."

I walked back, and Edward had already opened the gift that I got him, which were a pair of tickets to go see The Black Crowes in concert. He looked frozen when he held them. I poked him a little, and looked at the tickets with him. I smirked. "You really hate them that much? Shame. Well, maybe Ticketmaster will give me my money back…", but before I could finish, he held me in a vice-like hug that seemed utterly impossible to get out of. "BELLA. I'm seriously at a loss for words here. They were sold out last time I checked!" I laughed. "Well, I use Ticketmaster all the time for concerts! I get rewards and special treatment when it comes to first come first serve tickets. Don't worry about it. I got two, so you can take whoever you want with you! I hoped you would like them."

"Bella, I LOVE the Black Crowes. Your coming with me, by the way." I smiled at him, and nodded my head. "Well, the concerts next month, so you have plenty of time to decide on who you take." I turned back to my other presents.

I ended up getting some really nice things. Edward got me what seemed to be an encyclopedia based on Rock music, which I thought to be the coolest concept for an encyclopedia that I had ever seen.

Alice got me a really cute hoodie that had the symbol of the Red Hot Chili Peppers on the back. I put it on immediately, and saw that she had also gotten me a pair of Kurt Cobain converse. I was in love again.

Jasper got me some posters, a Family Guy one and a Clash one. They were really cool.

Emmett got me some CD's, and when I had opened all of the ones that were under the tree for me, my mother and Aunt Jodie stood up and asked me and Emmett to follow them into the dining room. We all stood up, and followed them.

I almost fainted when I saw what was on the table waiting for us. I got a new speaker system, and Emmett got Rock Band 2, equipped with all of the instruments. I screamed, and ran to give them both a huge hug.

"We thought that you guys would like these! Your mother and I pitched in to get these for you guys." They pulled Emmett into the hug, and I ran over to look at my new stereo, and Edward walked over to it too, and traced the box with his hand. "Wow, Bella. You are really lucky…" he said, and I threw myself into his arms and gave him a huge hug. I was so happy.

"Jasper, Alice, Rose and Edward, don't think we forgot about you guys!", Mom said. All of their eyes practically popped out of their eyes when they laid eyes on what they got. They each got a new Ipod Touch.

They all thanked my mom and Aunt Jodie, and we spent the next few minutes freaking out about what we all got.

Not everyone was done opening their other presents yet, so we headed back into the living room.

I had gotten Jasper and Emmett both three DVDs, Jasper got Wayne's World 1 &2 and Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. I got Emmett seasons 1-3 of Saturday Night Live. They both seemed to be happy about their presents, especially Jasper. He loved those movies.

I got Alice a necklace that had an English theme. The charms on the necklace were shaped as Big Ben, The English Rose, a guard, and a teapot and tea cup. She seemed to love it, and put it on immediately. I also gave her a Visa Gift Card good for 250 dollars. She was ecstatic about that.

Everyone cleaned up their messes, and Aunt Jodie decided to make us a big breakfast.

Alice and Rose went up stairs to change, they were still in their pajamas. I stayed with Edward, Jasper and Emmett in the living room watching TV.

I got up to go help Mom and Jodie in the kitchen, but Edward grabbed my hand.

"Can I talk to you?", he asked, still holding onto my hand.

"Yeah, sure. Let's go into the other room so that we have privacy."

I took his hand, and led him up to the second floor.

We stood in the hallway, and I leaned against the wall across from him.

"Bella, About last night-", but he stopped talking when we heard people on the stairs calling out my name. Alice and Rose could NEVER give me privacy. Privacy wasn't even in their vocabulary, or so it seemed that way to me.

"Here, lets go in there,", I said, grabbing Edwards hand and pulling him into a closet. When we were in, I pulled the chain to turn the light on.

The room was filled with Linen, bedding, pillowcases, and cleaning supplies. The closet was small, so Edward and I were really close.

"Alrighty then. You were saying?", I asked him.

He cleared his throat, and began to talk.

"Bella, I have to say this. Last night was the best night that I have had in a while. And it was only because I kissed you. I really meant what you heard me say. I was actually hoping that you wouldn't have had to find out from Alice, but you know. In the wise words of Mick Jagger, You can't always get what you want."

"Let me say this first: Mick Jagger isn't all that wise. He climbed to the top of a palm tree trying to get a coconut, fell off, and got a concussion."

"Wow, I just confessed my feelings to you, and you throw Rolling Stones trivia at me. What a great Ego boost!", he said sarcastically.

"Sorry, I just thought you should know."

"Well, don't change the subject. Bella, I have to know how you feel about me."

"Alright. Fair is fair, right? I love you, Edward. More than you can even know…", but before I could say anything else, his lips came crashing down on mine.

The kiss was just as good as the one we shared last night. The difference was that we were in a closet doing it this time, so no one could stop us.

I wrapped my arms around his neck, and welded myself to his form. The feeling was heavenly. He slipped his tongue into my mouth, and tangled one of his hands into my hair, the other one behind my neck bringing me even closer. I was in heaven.

The kiss got really intense. Because we were in a closet, he backed me up against the wall, and played with the hem of my shirt, slipping his hands under my shirt and sliding his arms around my waist. I shuddered when I felt his bare arms wrap around my skin, and he smirked into the kiss.

"Edward," I moaned his name into his mouth. He pulled his hands from my shirt and cupped my face again, pulling away slowly.

"Wow," he said, pronouncing every syllable. "That was….wow."

"Wow is right, Eddie-boy."

"I love you Bella."

"Love you too, Edward."

"Do you want to hang out tomorrow? Just you and me?", he asked. I nodded, and pulled him in for another kiss.

Mutually, we were now boyfriend and girlfriend. The words didn't have to be spoken for us to come to that understanding. I already had the perfect plan for what we were going to do tomorrow. I was just going to make it a surprise.

We left the closet 5 minutes later, when we could hear Alice and Rose panicking trying to find us. They saw us, and their eyes widened.

"Bella. Edward. Am I going to ask why you guys just came out of that closet together?" Edward shot them a crooked grin, and said "Because". The next thing I knew, he had grabbed my arms, and pulled me against him for another kiss. When we broke apart, Alice and Rosalie were jumping for joy.

"FINALLY!", they both screamed at the same time, and started to drill us on all of the details of our new relationship. They're questions ended when we were all called down to Brunch.

Edward and I walked hand in hand to the kitchen, and when we got there, everyone at the table turned their heads to us.

"Hey guys," I said. "Edward and I have something to tell you."

And the day went from there.

**A/N**

**=]**

**The song used in this chapter is 'The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year', by Andy Williams**


	15. Chapter 15: Milennium Rocks Hard

**EPOV**

"You ready to go?", I asked Bella when she was pulling on her coat.

"Yeah, let's go. I'd wear a hat, if I were you, Chicago can get pretty cold in the winter. Especially downtown.", she replied, taking my hat off of the coat rack and placing it on my head, giving me a small peck on the lips that made my morning.

"Colder downtown? Isn't that a little ironic, what with the fact that Chicago is well, amazingly busy this time of year? I would expect it to be warmer than here, at least," I said, wrapping my arm around her waist as I led her out the door.

"That's what you'd think," she said, shooting me a look. I just laughed at her.

"Your so cute when you use sarcasm!", I said, pinching her cheek, and then kissing it.

"Haha, yeah. I'm adorable. Let's get a move on! The EL should be warm, at least.", she said, hugging herself. I could see the mist coming out of her breath when she talked.

"How much farther till we get to the…red line did you say?", I asked, rubbing my hand up and down her arm fast to hopefully create some friction to warm her up.

"Oh, 3 or 4 blocks. Nothing too bad!", she said smiling up at me.

Bella decided that to get some time alone, we were going to go to downtown Chicago and hang out just the two of us for a day. I brought a lot of the cash that I got for Christmas just in case I saw something that either me or Bella would like. I was looking forward to today.

After what seemed like a mile because of the cold, we finally reached the EL station to get on a train to take us to our destination.

Bella walked up to a card machine, and gave it 20 bucks, which should last us the day as far as transportation is concerned.

We walked through the gates, and waited at the stop for the Red line to come. I reached into Bella's coat pocket, and grabbed her Ipod.

I selected a song that I liked, Float by Flogging Molly, and we shared the ear buds to listen to the song.

The train came a few minutes later, and we got on it. We found some good seats near the window, and sat down.

"So Edward, where do you want to go first?", she asked. I shrugged.

"Have any suggestions? Why don't we go get some lunch first, then we can plan accordingly from there.", I said.

Bella looked out the window, and froze. I thought something was wrong at first, but then she turned to look at me with a huge grin plastered on her face.

"You okay?", I asked.

"Yeah, Im fine! I know what we're going to do first. We're going to go to lunch.", she said.

"Bella, didn't I just say that?", I asked, slanting my eyes at her.

"Yes, but then I got a great idea of where we could go. Your going to LOVE this place, I'm sure of it.", she said with a smile, and proceeded to change the song to Rock the Kasbah by the Clash.

I grinned my crooked grin that she loves so much, and pulled her into a hug.

About 20 minutes and 3 train stops later, we arrived at our stop.

Bella practically dragged me out of the station, and when we got to the sidewalk, she pulled me close, slowing down, enjoying the moment.

"So, Bells. Where is this place?", I asked.

"Two blocks ahead of us," she said, looking forward with a small smile on her lips.

I looked ahead to where she was looking, and stopped dead in my tracks. Two blocks ahead of us, there was a building. There were lots of people around it, and in front of it, there was a red guitar sign. This could only mean one thing…

"Bella, your taking me to the HARD ROCK CAFÉ?!", I asked, dazed. I had always wanted to go to one.

"Yep! I know I'm awesome, but you can always remind me of just how awesome I am…", she said.

"You are 1000% awesome. And amazing. And truly my favorite person on the face of this planet.", I said, practically drooling ahead.

Bella sniggered a little, and rested her head against my chest as we walked.

I grabbed her hand when we were closer to the building, and took off running towards it.

"Edward, slow down! People are looking at us like we're crazy!", she said, pulling me back.

"Bella, do you understand how much I love you right now? I mean seriously. You, my girlfriend, are taking me, music lover, to the Hard Rock Café in Chicago for a first date. You really are truly amazing, just saying."

"Okay, done with your speech yet? I'm cold, and I want to warm up next to Keith Moon's drum set. NOW.", she said, pulling me into the building.

"Bella, did you just say Keith Moon's drum set?", I asked, but stopped suddenly when I took a look around the place.

There were flat screen televisions everywhere, showing music videos. There were crazy lights, and plastered up against the walls were instruments of famous rock musicians. The first thing I saw when I walked in was Jimi Hendrix's Right handed guitar strung left behind a piece of glass.

Bella's mouth dropped open when she saw this, and she took out her phone to take a picture. She handed it to me.

"Here," she said. "Take a picture of me next to it! I'm freaking out here!"

I took her picture, and the waitress brought us to our seat, which was next to a display of Pinstriped pants that apparently belonged to John Lennon. Bella almost started to drool.

"Hey," I said. "I should be the one freaking out here, not you! You've already been here before."

"Just once," she said. "And it was one of the best nights that I had in a while."

I laughed, and we started to look at our menus.

I ordered a burger, as well as Bella. For an appetizer, Bella recommended we get the Potato skins. We ended up ordering them, too.

"Do you want to go look around?", I asked Bella, who had just finished her burger.

"Sure, Im dying to actually."

With that, we rose from the table, and walked around the restaurant, looking at all of the memorabilia that they had.

My personal favorite item that they had was the checkered hammerhead guitar that Rick Neilson from Cheap Trick donated. I think that Bella's favorite was the Hendrix guitar. She couldn't keep her eyes off of it.

We went back to our seats after a long time of wandering around, and we found the bill on the table.

Bella reached for it, but I got it before she could. She gave me a look, and said "Edward, let me get it."

"Absolutely not, Bells! What kind of a gentlemen would I be if I let you pay for lunch?", and with that, I put down my debit card. She glared at it, and reached into her pocket.

She pulled out her wallet, and took out a 20. "Here," she said. "This should cover my stuff. It's expensive here, Edward. I really don't want you to pay for all of it!" She gave me a puppy dog look, and I rolled my eyes and took the cash.

I decided that I was going to use it to get her something nice, to remember this trip.

We got the bill paid, and we headed out into the busy Chicago streets again.

"So, Bells," I said. "What is there to do in this town?"

"Well, it depends on what you want to do, I guess. There's Millennium Park, The Sears Tower, The Art Institute, The Shedd Aquarium, there's Navy pier and Michigan Ave, and tons of other shopping places."

"Well, why don't we go to some stores and walk around?"

"Sure, that sounds fine. What kind of shopping do you mean?"

"Well, not like Chanel and Gucci and stuff that Alice would swoon over, but I'm sure that there's some cool underground places in this city."

"Ah, yes, the renound Underground spots. You want to go underground shopping? We're hitting Belmont. The Alley is there, and there's the haven for your everyday Emo!"

"Perfect," I said.

We took the train back to the Belmont stop, and got off. This was pretty fast, we weren't too far off from it. Bella led me down the street, where I saw the weirdest stores. Bella was right: This place really WAS made for the everyday emo.

Everything about this place was, well, how do I put it. GOTH. It was like a huge hot topic! The only difference was that it was many stores, probably not selling all of the crappy merchandise that Hot Topic sells, but actual genuine shit. This was going to be fun.

"Let's go in here," I said, motioning towards a store labeled 'The Tragically Hip'.

We walked in, and I was already overwhelmed by all of the band merchandise that they had here. There were posters adorning every empty space on the wall, all available for purchase. There were t-shirts, bumper stickers, lighters, shoes, key chains, this place was the best rock and roll shop that I have ever been too. Now I knew why Bella had missed Chicago so much.

"I didn't really come here a lot," Bella said to me when we were looking at some Pink Floyd shirts. "I mean, I loved this place, but it's a little expensive. To prove her point, she pointed to the price tag of the shirt she was looking at. I smirked. "You want that shirt, Bella?" I asked her.

"Well, It's alright, but I've seen better Pink Floyd shirts in my day." She was right. The shirt that she was looking at was a clichéd Dark Side Of the Moon shirt. The only logo that it had on it was the prism with the light.

"I like this one a lot better," she said. She was pointing at an Arctic Monkeys shirt, with a picture of a sad clown on it. I laughed. She would be the character to pick that shirt out, too. She slung it over her arm , and kept looking at the other band shirts.

I took the shirt from her, and told her that I would pay for it. This time, she got pissed.

"Edward Anthony Cullen." Ooh, I liked it when she used my full name. It made me feel all giddy. "Why do you insist on buying me every little thing that I come across? You've already spent so much on me lately, I feel guilty. Please, just let me buy the shirt myself."

She started to pout, and I smirked again.

"Bella," I said, stepping in front of her, burying my face in the crook of her neck, lightly tracing small circles with my nose right under her ear. "Look, I like buying you thinks," I said as I slowly dragged my nose upwards towards her chin. I felt her stiffen a gasp, and she clutched the shelves in back of us for support. "Is that really that much of a bad thing?"

At this point, I had maneuvered my hands so that they were on either side of her head. Her eyes were closed, and she bit her lip. "Bella," I breathed. "Please let me buy you this shirt. I want to make you happy."

With this her eyes flew open. I knew that I was going a bit out of hand, turning on the charm just so that I could buy her something.

"Edward, you really need some help if you thought that you needed to do all that just so that I would let you buy me a shirt. I mean, Come on. It's a shirt. Go ahead, spend a fortune on me, but you really don't have to make me weak in the knees to do that. Besides, I knew that you were going to get me the shirt whether I liked it or not, so it really didn't matter in the least bit."

"I make you week in the knees?", I asked questioningly, moving one eyebrow up.

"Frequently," she replied. "And that says something, going with the fact that we've only been together for three days."

This time, we both laughed. She started to blush, and I cupped her cheeks in my hands. I loved this girl so, so much.

I slowly leaned forward, and lightly brushed my lips across hers. Bella gasped at his, and wove her hands into my hair, deepening the kiss.

I wrapped an arm around her waist, and picked her up to be at my level. She was shorter than I was, and really light, so it was easy to do. I loved kissing her. I would never get tired of it.

When we were finished with our public display, I walked Bella over to the register and bought her shirt. She thanked me and kissed me again, hard on the lips. Oh, and she thought that I made her weak in the knees, I couldn't keep a straight sentence running through my head as long as she was around. It was impossible.

"Lets move onto a more, well, laid back change of pace, shall we?" she said. I nodded, nuzzling my face into her hair.

"Let's go to Millennium Park for a bit," she said. All I could do was nod again.

We walked back to the train again, and took it to the stop closest to the park.

We were listening to her Ipod again, this time listening to Substitute by The Who.

I always loved The Who, they were my favorite band. I was more than glad when I saw that Bella loved them too. We were practically meant for each other.

We walked along the paths in the park, listening to the Christmas music that the band was playing in the concert shell. Millennium Park was gorgeous. Yes, I know, I'm a dude, I shouldn't be saying things like that in my head, but I couldn't help it. Because of the holiday season, it was lit up with festive lights and other decorations, and It was just amazing. Bella and I sat down in a chair, drinking the hot chocolates that Bella had bought us.

This day was perfect.

I got a text from Alice while Bella and I were relaxing, and she told me that Bella's Aunt was going to throw a new years party for us tomorrow, since tomorrow was New Years. I thought that that was a great Idea, and I volunteered for Bella and I to get some decorations on our way home. Bella was more than happy to do so.

We weren't rushed by our offer, we spent the next hour just enjoying each other's company, listening to the sweet Christmas music coming from the stage.

"Edward, lets get back soon, I'm hungry again. Dinner is going to be soon, too." she said.

We waited a little longer, and headed back, stopping at the nearest CVS to her Aunt's house, and picking out some streamers and noise makers for the party. I didn't want to have to set up for it all day like I was sure Alice wanted to, so Bella and I were getting it out of our way.

Bella practically ran home after, and when we got back to the house, she ran into the kitchen and gave her aunt a huge hug. They sat right down, and started to work on a guest list, inviting a bunch of her old friends to the list. I sat down next to her, and enjoyed watching her glow in happiness. I know that it wasn't just because of the fact that she was having a party for all of her friends tomorrow, but because of the day that she had today. I was glad that she enjoyed it as much as I did.

I reached across the table, and held her hand. She leaned into my chest, and kept talking to her aunt. I couldn't help but smirk.

Oh, Silly Bella.

**A/N:**

**I put pictures of the places that Bella and Edward went on their little outing on my profile, so if any of you are interested, they're up there!**


	16. Chapter 16: Happy New Years!

**BPOV**

I couldn't believe my eyes.

Alice had completely transformed Aunt Jodie's basement into a dance floor. Complete with a strobe light, and the many decorations that we had all gotten earlier that day.

Emmett decided to take Jasper and Edward around to meet some of his friends, and Alice took the opportunity to have a girls day. Alice wanted to go shopping for clothes for the party later, but I had to subtly remind her that it was new years eve. Nothing would be open.

She had to make do with the supplies that she already had. She had brought practically all of her make up, and let me tell you, she had A LOT of makeup.

I picked out a cute outfit for the party, and Alice actually thought that I looked pretty good.

The outfit consisted of bright green skinny jeans from Hot Topic, a slightly oversized Academy Is… shirt, and my grey high top converse. I had decided on doing smoky eye makeup, red lipstick, and I was going to tease my hair.

Alice and Rose of course took that responsibility for me. And let me tell you, the look that I was originally aiming for was doubled with their help. I would NOT have remembered my classic unisex bracelets covering both wrists, and a cute hair band.

I looked in the mirror, and I had to admit, I didn't recognize myself at first.

Alice and Rose both looked stunning, of course. Alice wore a pair of skinny jeans with a halter top that hugged her petite form quite nicely. It was bright blue, and brought out the grey in her eyes. She wore black eyeliner, and put on some nude colored lipstick with some clear gloss over. She wore some fancy black strappy heals to top off the whole thing.

Rose wore a short forest green dress with black tights. She also wore black strappy heels, and the only make up that she had on was green eyeliner and mascara. She had pulled her hair into a side ponytail, and wore some hoop earrings.

We were all set to go!

Between me and Emmett, we invited about 35 people, not expecting all of them to come on such short notice. We ended up getting a decent turnout of about 25, though, so it was all good.

I got to choose the play list for the party, so I was sticking to new alternative/techno/new age, pretty much all rave and dance music. We needed the techno to go with the amazing strobe light that we had. Aunt Jodie gave us her old black light, too, so it was seriously sick as hell.

"Bella, guess what!", My friend Sandy sang as she walked into the house for the party. She was the first guest to arrive.

I shrugged, and she grabbed my shoulders and started to shake me. "I brought karaoke!" At this, I almost pissed myself. This night was just getting better and better.

Sandy and I had been friends since 4th grade. We were still really close, and we had a lot of great inside jokes. One of the jokes had to do with the fact that she was literally obsessed with Karaoke. She had a great voice, and she always blew people away whenever she performed. She was a G.

I helped her bring down the karaoke machine, and I set it up in between the stereo and the television.

I introduced her to Alice and Rose, and almost immediately, I heard Alice compliment her shoes. Oh no. If there was one thing that sandy liked more than singing…it was shoes. And shopping in General. She was like Alice's long lost twin. They started to talk it up immediately, and I felt really good. I ran upstairs to grab Alice's laptop to make the play list.

When I was passing the stairs on the first floor, I heard Emmett yell at me.

"Bella! Wait. Stay there. We want to show you something." Oh god, I thought to myself. This was going to be good.

Then, right when I was thinking that, Emmett, Edward, and Jasper walked, no, more like swayed down the stairs in that order, dressed in black suits, fedora-like hats, and big black sunglasses.

Oh. My. Holy. God. They were the blues brothers. I couldn't help myself now. I burst out laughing, falling onto the ground, clutching my stomach, laughing so loudly that Aunt Jodie had to run into the room to see if I was ok. When she saw them, her eyes widened, and she started to laugh too.

"Guys, this is brilliant….Sandy has karaoke, too!", I said, still on the floor laughing harder than I ever had.

"Sweet. Well, then. We'd better get down there before someone steals our show!", Emmett said, sounding EXACTLY like Dan Aykroyd. That just made me laugh even harder. He NAILED it. I loved the Blues Brothers.

It almost hurt for me to go up to the third floor after that I was laughing so hard. I was out of breath so fast, but I made it.

I grabbed her laptop, and grabbed my Ipod. I went through her songs and went through the Itunes Library, and I picked out about 75 songs to play. Alice and I practically shared our Itunes, so she had everything I was looking for. I hooked up my Ipod, and loaded all of the songs onto it.

About 45 minutes later, all of the other guests had arrived. The basement was jammed, and it was amazing.

I was dancing in the crowd of people with Alice and Sandy. Rose and Emmett were in a corner making out.

Alice and I were freaking out. We were raving.

Sandy stopped all of a sudden, and walked to the stereo and to my Ipod. She started to scroll down the play list, and she started to stare me down. I stopped, and tilted my head in her direction, confused. Then, she started to smirk, and she began to play a new song.

I had started to dance again, but when she put on this new song, I started flipping shit. I grabbed Alice's arm, and I pulled her over to grab Sandy's arm. I dragged them to the middle of the dance floor and started to sing and dance like crazy, causing people to stare at us, and we had formed a small audience.

**_HAHA! Well now, we call this the act of mating._**

**_But, there are several other very important differences between human beings and animals that you should know about._**

_I'd appreciate your input_

_Sweat baby Sweat baby_

_Sex is a Texas drought_

_Me and you do the kind of stuff that only prince would sing about_

_So put your hands down my pants_

_And I'll bet you'll feel nuts_

_Yes I'm siskel, yes I'm Ebert_

_And your getting two thumbs up_

_You've had enough_

_Of two-hand touch _

_You want it rough_

_You're out of bounds_

_I want you smothered_

_Want you covered like my waffle house hash browns_

_Come quicker than FedEx_

_Never reach an apex_

_Just like Coca-Cola_

_Stock you are inclined_

_To make me rise an hour early_

_Just like daylight savings time_

_Do it now_

_You and me baby ain't nothing but mammals_

_So let's do it like they do on the discovery channel_

_Do it again now_

_You and me baby ain't nothing but mammals_

_So let's do it like they do on the Discovery Channel_

_Getting' Horny now_

At this point in the song, almost every had started to freak out too. This song was amazing. It was definitely my first choice for the play list.

Alice and Sandy had started juking each other, and the sight was incredibly funny to watch. They were really becoming great friends.

Edward had come and joined us, freaking out about this song too. Apparently he didn't know that I had an immense interest in the Bloodhound gang, and that this was one of my favorite songs. He said that he liked me even more now. I kissed him square on the lips, messing up his sunglasses, and grabbing his hat and putting it on my head when the words of the song were coming back. I was just going to mess around with him all night.

_Love_

_The kind you clean up with a mop and bucket_

_Like the lost catacombs of Egypt only God knows where we stuck it_

_Hieroglyphics? _

_Let me be pacific_

_I wanna be down in your South Seas_

_But I got this notion _

_That the motion of your Ocean means "Small Craft Advisory"_

_So if I capsize on your thighs_

_High tide, B-5 you sunk my battleship_

_Please turn me on I'm mister coffee _

_With an automatic drip_

_So show me yours I'll show you mine_

_"Tool Time" You'll Lovett just like Lyle_

_And then we'll do it doggy style so we can both watch "X-Files"_

_Do it now_

_You and me baby ain't nothing but mammals_

_So let's do it like they do on the discovery channel_

_Do it again now_

_You and me baby ain't nothing but mammals_

_So let's do it like they do on the discovery channel_

_Getting horny now_

_You and me baby ain't nothing but mammals _

_So let's do it like they do on the discovery channel_

_Do it again now_

_You and me baby ain't nothing but mammals_

_So let's do it like they do on the discovery channel_

_Do it now_

_You and me baby ain't nothing buy mammals _

_So let's do it like they do on the discovery channel_

_Do it again now_

_You and me baby ain't nothing but mammals_

_So let's do it like they do on the discovery channel_

_Getting horny now_

When the song was done, the four of us started to laugh our asses off. I swear, at this rate of non stop laughter, I will weigh 10 lbs less tomorrow. I was already skinny enough.

Edward pulled me aside after the song was done, and pushed me up against the wall of the basement, kissing me hard on the mouth. I responded immediately, slipping my tongue into his mouth and moaning. He started to run his hands through my hair, and he used one arm to hitch my left leg over his thigh.

This was the most intense make-out session that I think we'd ever had so far, and I was really enjoying it.

I hadn't experienced sex before, nor had I even come close to doing anything even remotely related to sex other than kissing, which was why I was caught so off guard by the obvious bulge in Edward's dress pants. Oh god. Edward, the person I loved, dressed as a blues brother, just, oh god. Oh. Fucking. God. I was starting to feel a little heat pool in between my legs, and without me even thinking, I ground myself onto his bulge.

Edward's eyes shot open, and he froze. I pulled away, and blushed more than I could have possibly imagined. Luckily, the room was dark and the only lights were those of the Strobe light, the black light, and the glow sticks that people had brought.

Before any of us could say anything, Sandy had come up to us and pulled me away. I walked off with her, leaving Edward behind, still frozen at the wall. Oh god.

Did I do something wrong? I mean, we were both 17. It was getting to be the age that most people lost their virginities, but I hadn't really ever thought about having a physical relationship with Edward.

Hot N' Cold by Katy Perry had come on, so I started to dance with Sandy, still thinking about what had just happened. I was hoping that I didn't do anything wrong, not morally, but physically. What if he didn't like what I had done? I mean, he didn't have a good reaction to what I did, if you count him freezing up a bad reaction. I was going to talk to someone about it later, but right now, I really wanted to party.

Rose and Alice started to dance with their respected lovers, and I started to dance with other people other then Sandy.

All of my old friends were here, and I was having a blast catching up and seeing everyone again. Even though I could barely see who I was talking to, I was having a huge feeling of nostalgia pass through me.

It was great.

The next song began to play, but I looked at the clock and saw that it was already 11. We still needed to do the karaoke contest!

I walked over to the stereo, and turned off the music. There was collective groaning in the huge mass of people, and Alice hit the lights for me.

I grabbed the microphone on the karaoke machine, and started to speak.

"Hey, guys! Having fun?!" I asked, jumping up, showing how pumped I was. "Well, I know I am, at least. You don't even know how great it is to see you all again! I miss E-Town so much, and I'm so glad that all of you could make it! I'm sure that Emmett's proud, too, but it looks like Him and Rose are showing off their feelings a bit more…passionately than I am." I pointed to the wall where they were still attached at the mouths, Emmett throwing up two rock signs. Everyone started to catcall, and I laughed.

"Well," I continued, "We better not forget that this is a new years party after all! We have an hour left before the year 2009 is upon us! Until then, we have an unlimited snack bar over yonder, and well, it's time to start the KARAOKE!" People started to yell and clap and show that they were really having fun. I love all of my old friends. They were my life.

I let a pair of Emmett's friends walk up to the 'stage' first, and I handed them the microphone and let them choose their song. I was going to sing, Sandy already made me promise, but I was going to wait a bit. Now, I was going to find Edward.

I found him in the crowd talking to Alice, and Jasper was talking to Sandy. I grabbed Edward's hand, and pulled him up close to me, wrapping his arms around my waist. We started to listen to the music, and I felt his hot breath on my ear.

"Bella, you realize that I need to talk to you about what happened after Bad Touch, you realize that?" Oh no. I was dreading that. I turned to face him.

I nodded once, and closed my eyes. He cupped my face, and pecked me tenderly on the lips. I whispered "Later," and it was his turn to nod.

Everyone started to get into the Karaoke, and people even started to dance in the crowd to the people singing. When it was our turn, Sandy pulled me away from Edward and we went up to sing. She chose the song, which I was perfectly fine with. She chose Guilty Pleasure by Cobra Starship, and we all started to rock out to it, doing the dance that went with it.

When midnight came, we had all managed to crowd around the flat screen Television and watch the ball drop. Everyone simultaneously started with the countdown, and when the ball finally reached the bottom, Edward turned me around and kissed me.

"Happy New Year, Love," he said, pulling me close. Out of the corner of my eye, I still saw Emmett and Rose kissing, but it was much sweeter now, and less filled with passion. Jasper had picked up Alice and started kissing her sweetly. The entire basement was filled with joy and merriment, and everyone started to use the noisemakers that we supplied.

"HAPPY NEW YEAR!" Everyone shouted.

**A/N**

**The songs in this chapter are Bad Touch by the Bloodhound gang, and the mentioned songs were Hot N' Cold by Katy Perry and Guilty Pleasure by Cobra Starship.**

**On another note, ooohh! It looks like things are finally starting to heat up between Edward and Bella!**

**REVIEW!**


	17. Chapter 17: Conversations

**BPOV**

My mom got everyone up early today. It

It was the day that we were all going back to Forks, and we had spent the last two days here doing nothing but nonstop partying practically. Ok, so actually we just hung out with a bunch of mine and Emmett's old friends, but with them, it practically was a party.

I got up, stretched, and walked over to the desk where I had laid out my clothes for the Plane ride.

I looked at the clock, and I saw that it was about 4:30. I glanced at Alice's and Rose's sleeping forms, and sighed, letting a smile come across my face.

I needed to get them up, so why not make that task well, a little fun?

I ran over and grabbed my phone, looking through my most annoying ringtones. When I picked one, I turned up the volume full blast, which on my phone was pretty loud.

When I pressed play, the gummy bear song started to blast through the room. Alice started to stir, so I held the phone near her head.

She screamed, and started to thrash, wrapping herself around her sheets and blankets, and fell right off the bed. Her scream woke Rose, who then shot up so fast that she almost fell out of her bed, too.

I laughed, and flipped my phone shut. I walked over to Alice and gave her a hand to let her up.

She took it, and I helped her up.

"Isabella Marie Swan," she started. "What the FUCK?!"

At this, both Rose and I broke out into a fit of uncontrollable laughter.

"Sure, sure, laugh your stupid butts off. Bella, This isn't over, I hope you realize that." I stopped laughing, and swallowed.

"Alice, stop being such a drama queen and get ready! We have to go in a few hours.", I told her, throwing her change of clothes at her.

We all started to strip the sheets and other linens off our beds when we were dressed and had our morning routines done. It didn't take us a long time to get ready, because we had already packed ALL of our other stuff the night before. Pretty much, we just had to wait on the guys.

Edward and I have been inseparable for the last week. Ever since the party, though, he seemed to be really distant. I needed to talk to him about it soon, and I was planning on doing that on the plane.

I knew why he was acting so strange, of course. It was because of how far we almost went at the party. I don't really know what came over me…I mean, I have had exactly NO sexual experience at all, so I had no idea what came over me.

Edward was probably a little freaked out by what happened, I mean, I guess that it was pushing our limits. He's probably worried that we're moving too fast.

I laughed at the irony of that thought. He's not supposed to be worrying about how fast we're moving…I should be the one trying to slow HIM down if anything.

About an hour and a half later, we were on our way to the airport. Edward was sitting next to me, and he was laying his head on my shoulder, trying to get some more sleep. I kissed the top of his head.

"Edward," I whispered, "Wake up, Edward. You can sleep some more on the plane.

He groaned, and buried his head into the crook of my shoulder, planting a small kiss there. I chuckled, and hugged him.

It took us about an hour to get to our terminal, and then we still had about 45 minutes, so Alice and I walked around, leaving everyone else asleep at the terminal.

We walked into one of the many Starbucks in the airport, and we each got one of the special seasonal flavored coffees. I got a gingerbread latte, and Alice got a peppermint white chocolate hot chocolate. They were amazing.

We took our coffees and started to wander around the shops, Alice stopping at all of the little boutiques that she saw.

"Bella, we should travel more often! Airport malls are so cool."

"Alice, this is hardly a mall. It's just a bunch of booths!"

"Well, still. This is only Chicago. Imagine the airport shops in like, London and New York!"

"Let me get this straight. You would want to travel across the country, or even to another country, just to go to the shops that are in the airports? Alice, you need help."

When I said that, I put a hand on her shoulder, and she looked at her watch, and her eyes grew. I followed her gaze.

We had 4 minutes left to get to the terminal.

We started to run through the crowd, tossing our cups into the nearest trash can.

We went as fast as we could, weaving around the large groups of people trying to get to the other side of the shops.

We didn't really have to run, though, because we were still going to be able to board the plane. Our flight didn't even leave for the next half hour.

We got to the terminal to find that there was a line to start boarding.

Everyone had gotten in line ahead of us, so they were up near the front of the line. I saw Edward look at us, and he tapped to Jasper and pointed to us. They waved for us to go to them, but when we started to walk towards them, the woman in front of us cleared her throat.

"Excuse me, but there IS a line. Get back in it!", she stated, giving us cold looks.

Alice and I decided to stay where we were, and see them on the plane. At this point, they had already boarded anyways.

It didn't take long this time for the plane to take off. The coffee had kicked in, so I wasn't as tired as I was before. Edward on the other hand, fell asleep on my shoulder about 20 minutes into the flight. I sighed.

I was hoping that Edward would stay up, I thought that this was just a good a time as any to talk about what had happened the other night. I decided to try to wake him up.

Try was the perfect word, because he was out cold. There was no way that I was going to get him up before we land. Instead, I pulled out my Ipod and started to listen to some music.

I must have fallen asleep as well, because the next thing I knew, Emmett was shaking me and Edward to wake up. I opened my eyes, and he was towering over us, still shaking me.

"Emmett, relax. I'm up.", I said.

"Good. We're landing in 10."

Edward had woken up too, and he yawned and rubbed his eyes. I ran a hand through his hair, and he smiled. "Hey," I said.

"Back at you," he said back, giving me a quick peck on the lips.

I reached down to grab my bag, and placed it in my lap, putting my Ipod back on.

When we got back home, Carlisle and Esme took Alice and Edward out to lunch. Rose and Jasper went home too, leaving Emmett and I to ourselves.

I brought my stuff up to my room, and put my bags on my bed. I started to unpack, hooking my Ipod up to my speakers.

I placed all of my clothes on my bed, and re-folded them, putting them in piles separated into Pants, shirts, and underwear.

When the piles were done, I put them away in my dresser, and went to go on the computer.

I hadn't checked my Facebook all week, which was surprising with the fact that Alice had brought her laptop and went on hers a lot.

I checked my messages, and replied to my wall posts. I saw Edward's name on my top friends, and smiled. I went to his profile.

I realized while looking at his page that we were still listed as single. I laughed at that, and decided that the only way to prove that we were going out was to make it face book official. I set him as my boyfriend.

After Facebook I checked my Myspace. This was pretty much the rest of my night, give or take an hour or so of watching TV and eating. My mother had gone out with a friend, leaving Emmett and I home alone.

Soon It was just me alone, because Emmett had gone over to the Hale's.

It was a little eerie to be in the quiet house alone, so I called Jake to pass the time.

"Hey Bella! How was Chicago?"

"It was great, Jake. Thanks! How's Leah doing?"

"She's wonderful as usual. Her cousin Emily is engaged to my friend Sam now, and there's going to be this HUGE wedding for them in February."

"Really? Good for them! I have news, too. Edward and I are going out."

"Cullen?"

"Yeah, you know Edward. Is there something wrong with that?"

"Well, no, I guess Im just a little surprised. I thought you hated him."

"Hated Edward? Not possible. As it turns out, the whole Jessica and Lauren deal was just a big misunderstanding, and Edward really liked me. He was torn apart when I left."

"Well, that doesn't surprise me. As long as your happy, I guess everything worked out."

"Yeah, which is a huge relief."

At this point, I was lying on my bed with Jake on speaker. I had my eyes closed and my arms crossed behind my head.

"So Bella, how's your car doing?"

"She's good, I haven't drove her for a while, so I'm probably going to head over to the mall later and do a little shopping."

"Have fun, but listen, Leah's coming over soon, so I should probably go get ready. I'll text you later, okay?"

"Bye Jake!"

And with that, we hung up.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw something move outside of my window. It was probably Edward, so I walked over to see.

Sure enough, my Bronze haired god was standing on my shed looking as gorgeous as usual.

I let him in through the window, and gave him a hug.

"You know that you could have come through door, you weirdo," I said, giving him a small kiss.

"Yeah, but my way is fun."

"Can't argue with that logic," I mumbled as he pulled me into another kiss, this one much more intense.

We broke apart after a minute, and I took him downstairs to watch some television.

"Bella, where's Emmett and your mom?"

"Emmett's at Rose's, and my mom's out too."

"Good, cause we need to talk."

I looked at him, and he stood up and began to pace the living room in front of me.

"Bella, I like you. A lot. You know that. And I don't want to move to fast, because I don't want to make this uncomfortable."

"Edward, look at me," I said, getting up and standing in front of him.

"I like you a lot, too. We've established that before, and I know that you like me back too and wouldn't want to hurt me, but it's not like we'd be breaking some major rule."

"Bella," he started back, running a hand through his hair, "Don't get me wrong! It's not like I don't want to have sex with you, but we just started going out. I was raised to be a polite gentleman, and I'm not going to push the matter forward this soon. We should wait longer."

"I know what your saying, and I think that it's too soon also. Just promise me that we will someday."

"Of course!," he said, looking up at me, his eyes burning holes into mine. "I am a human guy, after all. We definitely will someday, just not so soon."

I nodded. That was all I could do. Again, I hadn't really thought about sex that much. Edward and I had been a couple for about a week now, so I knew that it was too soon to do it. The thing is that I had thought about it now, and I felt like that was something that I really wanted for us to do. I made un understatement when I had told him that I liked him a lot, truth was that I Loved him a lot. He knew that, though, and he told me many times that he felt the same.

We laid down on my couch and snuggled. We didn't say anything, but that was because nothing needed to be said. We were content.

Since we were on the subject of sex earlier, I couldn't get the topic out of my head. I wondered if Alice and Jasper had had sex, or even Rose and Emmett. They were really hot and heavy with their relationship. I decided that next time I saw either Rose or Alice that I would ask.

I took the remote and turned on the TV, and we began to watch the news. It was only about 5 at this point, so I went into the kitchen to make some food for us. I started to make some Spaghetti, and Edward came into the room to help me. He started to make the some sauce.

We ate peacefully, just being happy with each other's presence. Alice came over eventually, and we all headed over to the Hales to meet up with Everyone else.

Alice, Rose and I went into the living room and hung out while the guys were playing videogames up in Emmett's room. Alice started to talk about stuff that we should do the next day, but my mind kept wandering back to my conversation with Edward. It was brief, and I had agreed wholeheartedly with what Edward was saying. I was just now beginning to realize that even though I had told him that I agreed with him about it being too soon, that I really didn't feel like it was.

I loved Edward with all of my heart, and Sex was the ultimate way to prove it. There should be no time limitations with it involved, if you really loved someone that much. Great. Now I was frustrated.

Rose saw that I was spacey, and called my bluff.

"Bella, Bella, Bella. Something's up. Talk."

"Can I ask you guys something?", I said wearily, rubbing the back of my neck.

They nodded, so I continued.

"Have you guys, well, 'done the deed' with Emmett and Jasper yet?"

They looked at each other, and looked back at me. Rose quirked an eyebrow, and smirked.

"Bella, did you and Edward have sex?"

I shook my head no, and Alice spoke up this time.

"Well, Bella, why do you ask? Do you want to have sex with Edward?"

"Alice, I'm wondering so that I could get some advice. Yes, of course I want to have sex with Edward! Sorry if that's a little awkward, but I really do. I just want to know if you guys did so that we could, well, you know, talk about it."

"Bella, are you asking for details on the sex life of your brother and mine?", she laughed, and gave me an awkward look.

"No, not like, details, that's on a never-need-to-know basis. I just want to know how you decided to have sex."

"Well," Alice started, "Yes. Jasper and I had sex a while before you even moved here. We had already been going out for about 6 months, and one day we sat down and talked about it, and decided that we both wanted to do it. Does that answer your question?"

I narrowed my eyes in thought, and looked at the floor, playing with my shoelace. I gave a small nod.

"Emmett and I haven't had actual sex yet, but that doesn't mean that we didn't do anything. I don't want to go into too much detail with this, but there are definitely other sexual things that you can do without having sex."

Alice nodded in agreement with her, and I shook my head.

"We talked about it already, and he told me that he thought that it was too soon, and that he didn't want to make me uncomfortable by moving too fast."

"That isn't a bad thing, Bella!", Alice said. "That only means that he cares about you too much to have sex right now. I actually find it sort of well, sweet. Talk to him again, and tell him that you feel otherwise, that is, if you do. Do you agree with him?"

"I don't know if I do. I mean, I see where he's coming from, but I really want to show him just how much I love him. I can't even describe it in words, guys. I hate to admit it, but I think that I'm a little sexually frustrated. We kiss all the time, and when it gets a little heavy, I start to feel something. That something always grows whenever we kiss, and sometimes it gets a little much."

"Again, Bella. Talk to him. I promise that it will all work out, but just take some time. Don't forget to grant his wishes on the matter. Compromise."

Compromise. That word opened a whole new world to me. We could work out a compromise. I was going to wait some time before bringing it up with him again, just so that he can be a bit more open minded.

But for now, all I could do was hope.

**A/N**

**Sorry about the small delay for the update, i've been really busy lately. I sort of rushed this chapter, but I'll try to spend a bit more time on the next one. **

**In the mean time, REVIEW!**


	18. Chapter 18: 'Hey there, sweetcheeks'

**BPOV**

Things had gone so fast with me in the last two months.

It was now February, and Valentine's day was in two days.

Edward and I weren't like your typical couple. We weren't exactly attached at the hip like Alice and Rose were to Jasper and Emmett. Both of us had separate lives, and respected that.

Besides. Clingy couples were really annoying.

I was in my room on the computer, playing the Sims. I loved the Sims. It was just so much fun, and I didn't care that everyone else thought that it was lame. Alice agreed with me, though, so we would have nights where we would just stay home and play.

I had made myself into a Sim, and had all of my other friends as Sims as well.

I put them into a huge house that I downloaded, and made them all fall in love. I played through a few Sim days, and I saw something that surprised me. And made me want to cry. And jump for joy. The Bella Sim and Edward Sim 'woohoo-d'. Seeing this didn't help my mental case of me debating on talking to Edward about my current stand on his no-sex rule. Hey, at least virtual Bella was getting some.

I pressed the window key on my computer, and was brought back to my desktop background. I opened Itunes, and started to play some music. I went to the toolbar and selected the Sims icon, and was brought back to resume to my game.

I turned off all of the music in the game so that I could only hear my music. It was really nice.

I must have spent hours doing this, because the next thing I knew, it was getting late, and my mother had come home from work. I quickly saved my game, and ran downstairs to meet her.

"Hey, Mom," I said, pulling out a chair to sit on in the kitchen.

"Hi, Bells, how was your day?", she answered, looking through the fridge for something to eat.

"It's been pretty good. Kind of long, but hey, typical high school, right?"

She sat down across from me, and poured herself a bowl of cereal. "Where's Emmett?", she asked, pushing down the cereal with a spoon in the bowl.

"He's at the movies with Rose," I told her, getting up to get a glass of water.

"How's Edward doing? I haven't seen him in a week. That's a new record, Bella!", she teased.

"He's great, Mom. He's just been really busy lately, you know, with school and stuff."

"Bella, you should go over there. Hang out with him…you guys aren't spending as much time together as you should.", she said meaningly.

"Wow, mom, are you really asking me to go to a guys house at 9 at night? On a SCHOOLNIGHT? And not just any guy, but my BOYFRIEND?", I joked, shooting her a questioning glance.

My mother was such a sucker for romance. She knew how much I liked Edward, and she didn't like that we were a little distant right now.

Distant wasn't really the right word. We still hung out a lot, and I mean A LOT. We went out on dates almost every Friday, and when it wasn't a date, we would just hang out. Spending time together was fine with me. We didn't need to be attached at the lips for me to enjoy myself.

I walked up to my room to get my shoes and jacket. I was going to take her advice and go visit him. I missed him.

I heard my phone ring on my bed while I was on the stairs, and started to sing along with my ringtone, dancing down the hallway jumping up and down.

_Oh, I'm ready for it_

_Come on, bring it!_

_Oh, I'm ready for it_

_Come on, bring it_

_Oh, I'm ready for it_

_So kiss me goodbye_

_Honey I'm gonna make it out alive_

_So kiss me goodbye, _

_I can see the venom in their eyes_

_So kiss me goodbye_

_Honey, I'm gonna make it out alive_

_So kiss me good bye_

_I can see the venom in their eyes_

_Goodbye_

I twirled into my room and ran into something, knocking me and the object onto my bed.

"Bells, since when did you like Cobra Starship?", a very familiar voice said. I looked up to see that the object that I ran into was Edward, of all people.

"Since a few weeks ago. What are you doing here?", I asked, smiling up at him.

"The window was open. And I missed you. Now stop talking, and kiss me!", he whined.

I rolled my eyes, and grabbed a fistful of his shirt, pulling him down to crash my lips to his.

We kissed for what seemed like ages, until he reluctantly pulled away to get some air.

"Bella, we need to see each other more. I know that your busy lately, but I'm too selfish NOT to see you!", he said with a low, growl like voice. He was even more incredibly sexy when he said things like that.

"I agree wholeheartedly," I mumbled, kissing him again.

His lips left mine and began to travel down my neck to the crook between my neck and shoulder. I loved it when he did that, too.

I remembered that I had missed a call on my phone, so while Edward was still loving the crook of my neck, I reached down and picked up my cell.

I flipped it open to see that Alice had called me. I didn't want to get distracted from Edward, so I closed it back and made a mental note to text her later.

"You hungry?", I asked him, kissing his earlobe.

"Mhm," he said back, moving his lips back to mine.

"Lets go make some popcorn," I murmured against his mouth.

He pulled away and nodded, standing up and pulling me with him. Then, out of nowhere, he picked me up and slung me over his shoulder.

"HEY, NO! PUT ME DOWN!!", I yelled, and slapped his ass, kicking the air.

"Bella, stop kicking, or I'm going to drop you!" I stopped kicking.

He carried me down to the kitchen, where he went to the cabinets and pulled out a packet of popcorn, putting it in the microwave. He still had me in his arms.

"Hi Renee!", he said, turning around to see my mother who was still sitting at the table. I could see her trying not to laugh at my position.

"Hello, Edward. How are you?", she replied with a chuckle.

"I'm great, ma'am. I hope you don't mind if I watch a movie with Bella in the living room, do you?", he asked politely, then turned around to check on the popcorn.

"No, of course not. You two have fun, ok?", she said, putting her dishes in the sink and going up to her room.

"I really like your mother, Bella. I should get her a card for valentines day.", he said as the microwave beeped, signaling that the popcorn was done.

"Edward, you truly are the perfect boyfriend. I can't believe that I didn't claim you sooner!", I said, giving him a pat on the head.

"You know, Bella," he started, adjusting me to be a little more comfortable over his shoulder, "I really do love you."

"Right back at you, sweet cheeks," I joked back.

"Hey, how do you know if my cheeks are 'sweet'?", he asked, putting the popcorn into a bowl.

"Trust me, Eddie-boy, from this view, I can tell that they're extremely sweet!", I said, slapping his ass once again jokingly. He gasped, and put me down.

"My, my, Swan! I don't know what I'm going to do with you!", he rused.

"Hmm, well I can always try to help you make up your mind." With that, I pulled him into a very passionate embrace. His lips moved against mine sweetly, soon gaining more depth to the kiss. I pushed him against the counter, and wrapped my arms around his neck. He froze a little, and tensed up. Not again.

"Bella, if you use up all of your energy now, you'll fall asleep during the movie!", he said with a smile, pushing me away a little to look me in the eyes.

I rolled my eyes and grabbed the popcorn, turning around to walk out of the room. He chuckled and followed me.

I turned on the DVD player, and decided to play whatever movie was in the player already. I sat down on the couch while Edward turned off the lights. He sat down next to me and we began to watch the movie. Apparently, Donnie Darko was in the player. I groaned.

"What's wrong? You don't like this movie?", Edward asked.

"No, It's okay. The rabbit creeps me out, though.", I said, resting my head on his shoulder. He laughed.

"Don't worry, I'll protect you." he said.

"I'll be fine. Besides, Jake will distract me," I said, faking a far off look in my eyes. The only reason that I got this movie was because Jake Gyllenhaal. The man was too gorgeous for his own good.

I looked over at Edward who had rolled his eyes, and turned his head back to the movie. I laughed. Oh, how I loved him.

We sat watching the rest of the movie in peace, and when it was over, he brought me upstairs to tuck me in.

"Edward, I need your advice. Which pajama bottoms should I wear? The blue stripes or the yellow stripes?", I asked, holding up two pairs of bottoms.

"Definitely the blue ones," he said. "I love you in Blue." I blushed a deep crimson when he said that.

I changed into them, and he turned around so that I could put on a white tank top to wear as well. I put it on quickly, and jumped into bed with him. He got up and threw the covers over me, and gave me a kiss on my forehead. "Night, Bella," he said.

"Love you, Edward," I said back.

He grabbed his coat, and went over to the window. I blew him a kiss, and with a smile on his face, he stepped outside onto the shed and closed the window behind him.

I slept great that night.

**A/N**

**Happy Holidays, Everyone!**

**Sorry about the delay, I never usually wait that long for an update. The next one will probably be a wait too, just because I have alot of things going on right now. Between school, friends, and holiday prep, my life has been very hectic. I was suprised that I even had enough time for this update!**

**Bella's ringtone in this chapter was Snakes On A Plane by Cobra Starship. Great, great song. **

**And Jake Gyllenhaal really is adorable =]**

**~Hannah~**


	19. Chapter 19: Valentine's Day

**EPOV**

It was Valentine's Day, and I knew exactly what Bella and I were doing. Strangely enough, she had completely forgotten about the Christmas presents that she got me: The Black Crowe's tickets. The concert was moved to tonight, so I was going to surprise her with her own gift. Maybe a nice dinner to go with it….

Knowing that Alice was going to play Bella Barbie anyways later, I told her about my plans, and swore her to secrecy.

With a few hours left until we were going, and Alice already over at Bella's with her supplies to, and I quote, 'Make Bella's name true to it's word', I had just enough time to call and confirm our reservations at the restaurant that I wanted to take her to in Seattle. It was close to the theater, so I thought that if we left early enough, that we would be able to get there with time to spare, and maybe check out some bookstores and music stores that I looked into online.

I took a quick shower, and put on the clothes that I was wearing later. I chose to wear a blue button up with some jeans and my black and white slip on Vans. I rolled up the sleeves on my shirt, and headed back to my room, where I saw Jasper looking through my CD collection.

"Hey man," I started. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I'm waiting for Alice. Your mom told me she was at Bella's, so she sent me up here to wait for you to finish getting ready."

"Sweet. Alice should be done over there soon, hopefully, I mean, I have to get Bella to Seattle before 4. That's going to be a hassle. You know what you're going to do with her later?"

"Im taking her to that Italian restaurant in Port Angeles, then we're going to go see that new chick flick that just came out that she wants to see. Nothing too extravagant, but I think that she's going to come over to my house after so we can have some time to ourselves, what with Rose and Emmett already gone on their 'outing'."

"Sounds like fun. God…I'm seeing the Black Crowes tonight! This is going to be sick", I said.

"Yeah, dude, I mean really. I wish that I would have thought of a concert for Alice tonight."

"Haha, yeah…she would have liked that. I think that Bella's really going to like this, though. She loves concerts."

"Yeah, she told me. She's seen been to a lot of them…but that's what you get when you lived in one of the biggest towns for music in the Midwest. If I lived in Chicago, I would have gone to a concert every night!"

"Yeah, but then you wouldn't have known me or my sister, and I know how much you love us. Chicago would have sucked for you!"

"Whatever. GOD, what's taking them so long?", Jasper whined.

"Bella Barbie takes millennia, Jazz. I expected this."

"What's with Alice and making things bigger than they absolutely have to be?"

"Hey, she's YOUR girlfriend."

"Yeah, well she's YOUR sister. I love her, though. Every little perfectionist molecule in her little body."

I walked over to my window to see if I could see Bella in her room.

"Dude, stalker much?", Jasper asked. "If you're trying to pull an American Beauty, you're missing the video camera."

"Haha, yeah, very funny. That dude was a creep."

"That entire movie was creepy," he added. We made some other comments about the movie when I heard the front door open and close. I heard Bella laugh, and Alice telling her something, but I couldn't hear what she said. Jasper bolted out of the room, and I followed him.

He ran right down the stairs and picked Alice up in a hug that could have broken her in half. She shrieked, but then shut up immediately when she saw that it was Jasper that was hugging her.

"Don't ever keep me waiting that long again, ok? I had to endure Edward's American Beauty knowledge…and it bored me to hell.", he teased, looking at me and sticking his tongue out at me.

"Mature. Bella, are you ready?", I asked, pulling her into our own hug.

"Yeah, pretty boy. Let's go!" and with that, she grabbed my coat for me, and pulled me out to my car.

"Oh, by the way," she started, pulling me around to face her.

"Yeah?" I said, leaning into her slightly, pushing her slightly against my car.

"I know a lot of American Beauty trivia too. It's nothing to be ashamed about."

I stared her in the eye for a few seconds, still taking in the fact that this wonderful creature was really MINE. She leaned in the 2 inches that it took for our lips to meet, and I cupped her face, tilting my head into hers to deepen the kiss. I pulled away, and leaned my forehead against hers.

"Happy Valentine's day," we said at the same time. All of a sudden, she got a huge grin on her face.

"JINX! You, Eddie, owe me a soda!", she said triumphantly, crossing her arms over her chest.

"You, Bella, are the coolest person I know. Now let's go, Seattle is a long drive."

"Seattle? That's where your taking me?", she asked, with a small whistle.

"What, you forgot about the concert tickets you gave me?", I asked while we were buckled in. I slowly pulled away from the curb, and we were on our way.

"OH MY GOD. You're taking me to the concert?! Ugh. I completely forgot about it! You, Edward Cullen, are the BEST boyfriend on the face of this planet."

I laughed, and she turned on the radio, practically jumping up and down in her seat. I changed the station that was playing, until I found a station that was playing a song that both Bella and I enjoyed.

_Lay where you're laying  
__Don't make a sound  
__I know they're watching  
__They're watching_

_All the commotion  
__The kiddie like play  
__Has people talking  
__They're talking_

_Your  
__Your sex is on fire_

_Dark of the alley  
__The breaking of day_

_The head while I'm driving  
__I'm driving_

_Soft lips are open  
__Knuckles are pale  
__Feels like you're dying  
__You're dying_

_Your  
__Your sex is on fire_

_Consumed  
__With what's to transpire_

_Hot as a fever  
__Rattling bones  
__I could just taste it  
__Taste it_

_If it's not forever  
__If it's just tonight_

_Oh it's still the greatest  
__The greatest  
__The greatest_

_Your  
__Your sex is on fire_

_Your  
__Your sex is on fire_

_Consumed  
__With what's to transpire_

_And your  
__Your sex is on fire_

_Consumed  
__With what's to transpire_

The song ended, and turned to the next song. Bella took my hand, and held it. It was really nice.

It had started to snow when we got on the highway, and I turned down the volume on the radio so that we could talk.

We talked about everything. School, what was playing on the radio, friends, family, etc. We were talking for a while, when Bella got quiet.

"You okay, Bells?", I asked.

She bit her lip, and shook her head, looking like she was clearing it.

"What? Yeah, I'm fine! Why do you ask?", she said.

"Well, you just seem a little out of it, that's all", I said.

""Don't worry about me, I'm fine," she said, and then gasped at what had just come onto the radio. It was Bittersweet Symphony by the Verve.

She cranked up the volume, and began to sing along, closing her eyes and moving in her seat to the music. I looked over at her, which was an incredibly stupid idea. They way she was moving made me feel a little….I'm not going to finish that sentence.

_Cause it's a bittersweet symphony,_

_This life_

She sang it perfectly. Her voice reached all the right notes, and I couldn't help but mouth along, still trying not to look at her dance again. It didn't help; I could still see her out of the corner of my eye.

_Trying to make ends meet,_

_You're a slave to money then you die_

I sighed, and turned down the heat in the car, smiling a little at the situation. My beautiful girlfriend was dancing next to me, to a song that was impossible not to get into. And I chose to avert my eyes. I was going crazy.

_I'll take you down the only road I've ever been down_

_You know the one that takes you to the places where all the veins meet_

_Yeah_

This time, she grabbed my hand and pulled it up to her mouth, kissing it and singing into the palm. I looked over at her, and she still had her eyes closed, completely unaware of what she was doing to me.

_No change, I can't change_

_I can't change, I can't change_

_I can't change_

_But I'm here, in my mold_

_I am here, in my mold_

_But I'm a million different people from one day to the next_

_I can't change my mind_

_No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no_

She started laughing after this part.

I turned my head to smile at her.

"Sorry about that, I just love this song SOOO much," she said, finally putting an end to her dancing.

"It's alright. It was…well…interesting.", I said with a little laugh.

The lead singer started to sing again, and Bella was laughing and blushing so she missed the first few lines. She continued again, though, without the deadly dancing.

_I let the melody shine, let it cleanse my mind_

_I feel free now_

_But the airways are clean_

_And there's nobody singing to me now_

I even helped her sing the next verse, and she snuggled into my arm, closing her eyes. I could smell her shampoo, and it was the perfect mixture of strawberries and Freesia. It was divine.

_No change, I can't change_

_I can't change, I can't change_

_But I'm here, in my mold_

_And I'm a million different people_

_From one day to the next_

_I cant' change my mold_

_No, no, no, no, no, no, no_

_I can't change_

_I can't change it_

'_Cause it's a bittersweet symphony, this life_

_Trying to make ends meet_

_Trying to find some money, then you die_

_I'll take you down the only road I've ever been down_

_You know the one that takes you the places_

_Where all the veins meet_

_You know I can't change, I can't change_

_I can't change, I can't change_

_But I'm here in my mold_

_I am here in my mold_

_And I'm a million different people from one day to the next_

_I can't change my mold_

_No, no, no, no, no_

_I can't change my mold_

_No, no, no, no, no_

_I can't change_

_Can't change my body,_

_No, no, no_

_It's just sex and violence, melody and silence_

_Its jut sex and violence, melody and silence_

_I'll take down the only road I've ever been down_

_It's just sex and violence, melody and silence_

_I'll take you down the only road I've ever been down_

_Been down_

_Ever been down_

_Ever been down_

_Lalalalalalalaaaaaaaaaa_

_Ever been down_

_Ever been down_

_Have you ever been down?_

_Have you ever been down?_

_Have you ever been down?_

Bella fell asleep on my shoulder before the song ended, leaving me to the music and my thoughts.

We got to the restaurant with two hours to spare until the concert. I woke Bella from my shoulder, and I parked across the street in a busy parking garage.

We walked into the place, and I was immediately overrun by the smell of really good Italian food. I heard Bella chuckle next to me, and I looked over at her to see her roll her eyes with a grin on her face.

"Italian food? Really, Edward?", she asked with a knowing look on her face.

"What's wrong with Italian food?", I asked, confused.

"Nothing, its just so cliché. Italian food on Valentine's Day? Who would of thought!", she joked as the waiter approached us, and led us to our seat.

We sat down and looked at our menus. After a few minutes, we decided on what we wanted to eat. We ordered when the waiter returned, and enjoyed each other's company for the rest of the dinner. I had ordered lasagna, and she ordered the angel hair pasta and a coke. I just stuck with water for my drink.

The dinner was good, and after, we hurried back to the car to get to the venue.

"I can't believe it…god I'm so exited!", Bella said.

She gave me a huge hug when I got in the car, and I laughed.

"Bella, calm down! If you keep slowing me down like this, we're not going to get there until the concert already ended!", I said jokingly. She smiled, and crossed her arms, rolling her eyes at me and turning up the heat in the car. The sun had just set, so it was getting cold.

We listened to my Doors CD on the way to the theater, and got there surprisingly fast.

I gave our tickets to the bouncer after getting to the front door, and we entered.

We had good seats…4th row. There wasn't any general admission, which Bella looked upset about. I guessed that she was a mosher-too bad that you couldn't exactly mosh to the Black Crowes. I told her that, and she laughed.

"I knew that you wouldn't mosh here…but I still like getting right up next to the stage," she said.

Bella huddled up next to me as more people started to file in the entrances. The place was already pretty full, and soon, they place was packed.

The opening band played their set, and then passed it on to the Crowes. They played a great show. There was great crowd involvement…and the lights, wow. Just, wow. The lead singer was going crazy the whole time.

By the time that they played _She Talks to Angels_, Bella and I were already singing along with the band.

We saw a lot of couples there, and they all looked as happy as we were. The only thing was that that wasn't possible…no body could have felt as happy as I felt then.

I had gone to tons of concerts before, but this was definitely the best one. There was an older crowd, which meant that the people were more mature and less noisy. I could actually hear the music! Plus, there wasn't any screaming until the songs were over, which was a major plus.

The concert lasted a long time. I guessed about 5 hours all together, so when it was finally over, it was about 11:30.

"Oh god," Bella said as we walked back to the car.

"What?", I asked, handing her the shirt that I bought her at the show.

"We're going to have to drive home now! You must be exhausted.", she said, wiping my shaggy hair out of my eyes.

I groaned. She was right. It took two and a half hours to drive up here, and Bella was right. I was pretty tired. Plus, it was snowing even harder now.

"Edward, why don't we just check into a motel and go back in the morning?", she asked.

I considered what she said, and thought that it really wasn't that bad of an idea. The only thing was that we would have to share a bed. I was perfectly content with that idea, but I wasn't sure if she was comfortable with that idea.

"Are you sure? I mean, we would have to share a bed. Are you comfortable with that?", I asked.

"Edward, I'm sure I'll survive. It's not like we have to have sex, or anything. Please? I don't want you to drive home this late."

"Fine," I said. We got to the car at this point, and drove out.

We had reached the city limits when I spotted an exit that led to a holiday inn. I turned onto the exit, and drove to the hotel.

Bella and I got a room key, and went to the room.

It was pretty nice; there was mini fridge and a good sized TV with unlimited channels.

Bella took off her shoes and coat, and put them in the closet. I did the same, and lay down on the bed.

Bella called Alice, and told her that we were spending the night in a hotel, so that she wouldn't worry when we got home later.

She texted her mother and Emmett, telling them that she was spending the night at my house, so that they wouldn't freak out about us staying at the hotel. I thought it was a good idea. My parents had gone out, and wouldn't notice me not being home, so I didn't bother calling them.

Bella and I watched television for a while, and we finally decided on going to bed.

"Edward…I don't want to sleep in my clothes…would it be okay if I slept in my underwear?", she asked me. I gulped, and nodded. I decided that it was good idea, so I took stripped down to my boxers and crawled into the bed with her.

"You okay?", I asked her, when she was under with me. She nodded, and curled up to my side.

I wrapped my arm around her, and breathed into her hair.

"Edward," she said, sitting up.

"Yes?" I asked, sitting up with her. She was giving me a view of her body now, and I had to hold back a groan.

She was wearing a black lace bra, with matching panties. She looked directly at me, and I made eye contact with her.

We stared at each other for a bit, and she lunged at me, crashing her lips onto mine with a passion that I never saw in her before. I soon lost all coherent thought, and let her kiss me. I cupped her face in my hands, and flipped us over so that I was now looking down at her.

She moaned into my mouth, and I pulled away.

"Bella, are you sure you want this?", I asked hesitantly. She nodded, and gave me a small peck on my lips.

"Edward, I know I'm not the only one between the two of us that wants this, badly. Please. Just let yourself go!", she said, kissing my jaw line to my neck, weaving her hand into my hair.

"I don't have a condom…", I said into her neck.

"I'm on the pill,"

That was all it took for me to get lost in her.

That night, Bella and I lost our virginities.

The carried home was pleasant. Bella looked over me with wonder in her eyes, wonder and love. It was warm and welcoming.

I was glad that we had finally 'done the deed', even though I had battled with myself internally on whether it was too early or not.

Bella didn't seem to mind, she seemed to be completely overrun with bliss. So was I, for that matter.

Nothing could compare to the feeling that I felt last night. It was the first time in my life that I felt complete, and it took the breath right out of me.

I was completely happy. We had to go back to school the next day, so I wanted to spend the rest of my weekend with Bella, which I'm sure she was fine with.

"What a valentine's day, am I right?", she said with a laugh.

"You're telling me," I said, grabbing her hand, and placing a small kiss on it.

"Oh, Edward?", she asked.

"Hmm?", I responded.

"You still owe me that soda."

**A/N:**

**I was debating on how to get them to that point, and I think that I did it right.**

**Sorry about the slow update! Hopefully it was good enough for the wait. I'll do the next one sooner, I promise. **

**I'm not sure on how long this story is going to be, I'm running out of things to add! I'll start writing down ideas, though, so I promise that I'll make it good.**

**I hope that everyone is having a GREAT holiday break!!**

**Oh, and the songs used in this chapter are Sex On Fire by Kings of Leon, and Bittersweet Symphony by the Verve**

**~Hannah**


	20. Chapter 20: Sing us a song, Piano Man

**BPOV**

Emmett and I started to drive to school together everyday in the months coming closer to the end of the school year.

The time that we had together was limited now; both he and Rose got accepted into the University of Washington in Seattle, so even though they would be close to us next year, we would be seeing much less of them.

Everyone was upset about this, but luckily for Alice, Jasper decided to take a year off school after graduating so that he would be able to be with her for her senior year. I was so happy for them.

Edward and I were closer than ever now. Almost two and a half months passed since we had sex, and I realize now that that was the key to our happiness now. There was nothing hidden between us, and it seemed that our bond was extremely strong. It would take a lot to break it.

"You okay, Bells?" Emmett asked, turning down the radio in his car. I looked up at him and gave him a smile.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Emmett. I guess I'm just tired. You know, between studying and friends, I barely have any time to sleep any more", I told him. He looked ahead, a little frown playing on his lips.

"I'm sorry about that," he said, turning off the radio completely. "But, it's Friday, so you'll get to go right home and sleep all weekend." I chuckled at that. That was impossibility, and he knew it. He was just obsessed with trying to make me feel better, which is why I was going to miss him so much when he left.

We pulled up to the school, and grabbed our bags from the trunk.

Jasper and Rose were sitting outside the school, and greeted us when they saw us.

"So what are you guys doing later tonight?" Rose asked as Emmett wrapped his arm around her.

"Studying, sleeping, and more studying," I replied with a monotone voice. Jasper caught the sadness of my voice, and tried to cheer me up.

"No, you're going to hang out with all of us later. Studying is for lames, Bella!" he joked.

"Eh, sure, why not. Sounds like fun," I said giving in. "BUT…but. I will have to get at least a LITTLE studying in this weekend if I want a chance of passing my finals."

"What's this about finals?" Alice said out of nowhere. I felt a pair of arms wrap around me, and I didn't have to turn around to guess who it was.

"Hey," Edward breathed in my ear. I smiled and leaned into him.

"Morning, sunshine," I replied, giving him a quick kiss on the lips.

"So what are the plans for later, anyways?" I asked Jasper.

"Movie? Then hang at Edwards place?" he replied, getting a nod from everyone. That was the usual plan for when we all hung out…and strangely enough, it never got old. The first bell rang, and we all parted our separate ways.

"So Bella, have any plans for the weekend other than tonight?" Edward asked me on our way to class. He always walked me to class first period.\

"Nothing too special. I was hoping to head up to Port Angeles and go to that good music store there. Im going to take Alice-I've decided that I'm going to push her into listening to more of the classics." Edward chuckled.

"Good luck with that. I've tried. She never got past Who's Next." he continued.

"I didn't know that you could timestamp The Who.", I joked.

"Well, there's a lot of stuff that you probably don't know. BUT, those numbers could drastically change if you get to class before the bell rings."

I had just noticed that we were standing outside of my first period class when he said this. I quickly stood up on my toes to give him a kiss, and I told him I'd see him at lunch.

I walked into class, and took my usual seat in the back row next to Angela.

When I was getting my math book out of my bag, Angela and I began to talk.

Angela and I had become really good friends here at school. Even though she was still pretty good friends with Jessica, Angela was really nice to me and didn't listen to any of Jessica's ramblings about me.

Mrs. Consiglio passed out a graded test that we took, and everyone in the class started to talk about their grades.

I of course, got an A. Math was really easy for me, luckily. I could practically look forward to the math final. I'm not crazy, though. It's still a test. My morning continued with more Final reviews. Not exactly my idea of fun, but at least I was able to knew what I had to study.

Lunch came fast, thank god. Edward had saved me a seat between him and Alice, letting Jasper Rose and Emmett sit across from us.

"Bella, Mike Newton is staring at you," Rose said. Both Emmett and Edward turned around to look at him with me, and sure enough, there he was, staring right at me. When he saw me look at him, he started to grin like the Cheshire cat. It was a little weird.

"Whoa, that's not weird at all," I said sarcastically.

"I don't like the way he was looking at you, Bella," Edward said.

"Relax, Edward, we're just friends! He knows that." I assured him. He nodded slightly, looking at his food.

"At least, he better know that…" I murmured. Edward must have heard, because he frowned and looked at me, looked at Mike, and then back at his food.

"You okay?" I asked him. He nodded and looked up at me with a crooked smile.

Instead of answering me, he pulled the back of my neck to him and crashed my lips onto his. Emmett practically jumped out of his seat, yelling about how gross that was, because Im his sister. Rose slapped his arm and told him to shut up. Jasper laughed, and Alice looked like she was about to jump off the walls.

When I pulled away from Edward, I smiled. "What was that for?" I asked. He looked into my eyes, his shaggy hair falling into his eyes. My breath caught; he was absolutely gorgeous right then. His eyes were burning holes into mine.

"Mine", he said. I laughed, and he smirked, pulling me closer to him, and kissing the top of my head. I glanced back around, and saw that Mike was no longer looking at me.

Edward walked with me to Biology when lunch was over. We sat down in our seats, and listened to Mr. Banner's lesson. He was going over photosynthesis, and I had already learned all about it back when I took biology in Evanston, so I let my mind wander.

I pulled out my Ipod and stuck the headphones under my shirt. I put one of the buds in my ear, and covered it with my hair so that it was invisible to the rest of the class. I started to listen to The Sounds, while doodling on my notes, to make it look like I was writing things down.

Could I act like you?

And put a smile on my face?

Not even for a second

Would I lie to myself?

Too many things are missing

And there's a tear in my eye

It's not a question or an answer

But it will change your mind

We'll be the same tomorrow

'Cause we've all been painted by numbers

Were dancing' as we borrow

You said it was love

I said I'd like you to be mine

I couldn't act like you

But I can love like you do

Between us there is something

I can't explain it to you

We'll be the same tomorrow

'Cause we've all been painted by numbers

Were dancing' as we borrow

You said it was love

I got what I need to get by

We'll be the same tomorrow

'Cause we've all been painted by numbers

Were dancing' as we borrow

You said it was love

I said I'd like you to be mine

We'll be the same tomorrow

'Cause we've all been painted by numbers

We're dancin' as we borrow

Sing a song for sorrow

'Cause we've all been painted by numbers

We're dancing' as we borrow

You said it was love

I got what I need to get by

Mr. Banner droned on and on, and I continued to listen to music until the bell rang. Luckily for me, no one noticed that I was out of it. When I listen to music, I get transported to my own little world. It helps me to block out things around me.

After class, Mike came up to me before Edward did.

"Hey Bella," he said, getting my attention.

"Mike, hey, what's up?" I stammered. Edward was talking to Mr. Banner, so I was free to talk to Mike. Oh joy.

"Well, I was just wondering if you could help me study for finals…you know, like tutor me. I don't really get any of this stuff." he said. I sighed.

"You want MY help? Ok…umm, sure I guess," I said. "BUT, this is for STUDYING. I need the review too, ok? No getting off track."

"No, of course not!" he said, smiling at me.

"Ok, great I guess. We should do it later in the month though…you know, closer to finals. I doubt that you'll remember any of it if we study now." I said.

"That works for me! See you around, Bella!" and with that, he left. I walked over to Edward, who was waiting for me at the door.

"What was that about?" he asked me.

"Mike wants me to tutor him so that he can do good on his finals." I said.

"Don't you mean so that he can do WELL? Wow, Bella, if your going to tutor someone, make sure it's not for English." he joked.

I threw him a sour face, and grinned when he saw me roll my eyes.

"But seriously, Bella." he started, losing the joking face and taking on a much more serious one. "Are you sure you want to do that? What if he tries to do something?" he asked, concern playing on his face.

"Well, Edward, I AM a big girl. I can take care of myself," I said, cupping one of his cheeks in my hand. "I wouldn't worry about it. It won't be for a few more weeks, anyways. Don't stress about it. I'll be fine," I said. He still didn't look much better.

"Edward. It's just Newton! He's as dangerous as a toothpick. Do you know what happens to me whenever I try to use a toothpick? I snap them." Edward looked at me for a few seconds, and then burst into laughter. "Come on," he said, wrapping his arm around my waist and grabbing my bag for me, still laughing. "Let's get you to class, shall we?"

The rest of the day went slower than the morning did, but it ended finally, before I went insane.

Emmett decided to take Rose and Jasper home, leaving me to go home with Edward and Alice. We were all going to meet up later anyways at the movies, so it didn't matter where we all were. Edward drove while Alice and I sat in the back.

During the drive, it started to rain really hard. Edward stopped at a red light and turned around to see that I had my seatbelt on, and Alice almost flipped a shit. She started to go on and on about just how completely adorable that was. She even gave Edward a hug from the backseat to tell him just how much she was proud of him for caring about me that much.

"Alice, you seemed surprised that I care for Bella so much. Cut me some slack! I DO love her after all." he said, rolling his eyes. A smug grin was plastered on his face. I winked at him through the rearview mirror, and he looked back at the road ahead of him.

"Bella, I still can't believe that schools going to be out in a little over a month. That's 4 weeks! Then we're going to be SENIORS!" she said, jumping up and down in her seat.

"Scary, isn't it?" I asked. She looked at me with a confused look, and then laughed in my face.

"Bella, are you serious? Becoming a senior is so exiting! All the things that we'll be able to do. Plus, it's our last year of high school! Have you guys decided on where you want to go yet?" she asked.

"To tell you the truth, Alice, I haven't even thought about it yet. It never seemed so close to me, though," I said. Edward parked the car in front of his house, and we all got out, running inside to avoid the rain.

Esme greeted us at the door, and warned us to take our shoes off because she had just cleaned the floors. We took our shoes off and headed to the living room. Alice took out her phone and started to text someone, and I headed over to the Piano. I started to mess around with it, playing different songs. I started to play one of my favorites: Piano Man by Billy Joel. Esme must have heard it, because she came in and started to laugh at it.

"I remember this song! Bella, your taking me back to High School, you know that?" she said, resting on the couch. Edward and Alice were already sitting down on it, and Esme started to hum and sing to the song. I joined her, and Alice rolled her eyes.

"God, we're turning into the Partridge family, here. Bella, can't you play something a bit less….cheesy?", she said.

I just laughed, and continued to play. I sang the chorus, and Esme sang the other verses. It was really fun, even though Alice was sitting there with a pillow over her head, ruining the moment.

"I don't see what's wrong with this song," Edward said. "Bella was right…you DO need to appreciate the classics some more." Alice shot him a look.

"Bella, I'd say that this is the first on the list, just to piss her off," he continued, jokingly. I just replied with the song.

SING US A SONG, YOU'RE THE PIANO MAN

SING US A SONG TONIGHT

'CAUSE WE'RE ALL IN THE MOOD FOR A MELODY!

AND YOU'VE GOT US FEELING ALRIGHT!

I finished up the song, and Esme gave me a hug. "You really are talented, honey," she said.

"Thanks, Esme! I really appreciate it. I'm glad that SOMEONE liked it, at least," I said, turning around to give Alice a look. She stuck her tongue out at me, and I got up to grab my backpack.

"Why don't we do some homework?" I said, sitting next to them on the couch. Edward lied down, resting his head in my lap. "Bellaaaaa," he whined, closing his eyes. "It's Friday!"

I laughed, ruffling his hair. "The faster we get done with it, Edward, the more time we will have to ourselves this weekend," I replied. Alice got out her English book, and started on her work.

I had gotten most of my work done before Alice got a call from Jasper about what time we were meeting them at the theaters. She agreed on 7, which was still a few hours away. Edward went into the kitchen to get some snacks, and I hooked up my Ipod to their living room speaker system, putting on some Daft Punk.

Alice got up and changed it, muttering something about how I can be such a musical mood killer. I smiled and rolled my eyes, and groaned when I heard her put on The Fray. "Really, Alice?" I said. She grinned, singing along to 'How to Save a Life', and I couldn't help but join her, still doing the rest of my work.

Edward came back, and standing behind me, he wrapped his arms around me. "Bella, I have to run to the store for Esme. I'll be back before we all go, ok?" he said. I nodded, giving him a small peck on the lips. "Do you want me to go with you?" I asked him while he was getting his coat on. "That's ok; I'll be right back, stay here with Alice." I gave him a hug and told him to hurry back soon.

Alice greeted me in the doorway to the living room, and we went upstairs to hang out in her room instead.

"So when do you want to go to Port Angeles? There are a couple of places that I want to go to while we're there, you know, just because," she said, shrugging.

"How does tomorrow sound? I don't really care either way, it's not like I have anything else planned" I said.

"Really? NOTHING else planned? Edward didn't even offer to take you out?" she asked, getting off the bed and picking up a magazine for herself.

"Not yet at least…but chances are that we will. We've been spending a lot of time together", I said looking at her.

She glanced up from her magazine, and winked at me. "Let's go to your house and find you something to wear for tonight!" she said, jumping up and pulling me out of the room.

We raced down the stairs, and she won, cheating by skipping the last three steps and jumping straight down. We put our shoes on, while I joked about her being a cheater.

She stuck her tongue out at me and ran out the door, forgetting her coat. I jumped up before she could get back, and I closed the door on her. I looked out the window and saw her pound on the door, yelling to me about how I wasn't being funny and how she was sorry.

"Aliceee…" I said in a musical voice, laughing on the other side of the door.

"ISABELLA MARIE SWAN!" she shrieked, still pounding on the door. "OPEN THIS DOOR RIGHT NOW!"

I realized that she must be freezing out there, because it was still raining. I opened the door for her finally, and she glared at me.

"Oh, Alice. You really need to learn how to lighten up!" I said, tossing her her jacket and walking out, closing the door behind me. She started to tell me how I could have given her a cold, but I just tuned her out as we walked to my house. I pulled my hood up over my head to block out the rain and wind.

I unlocked the front door, and put my coat up. Alice walked to the kitchen to get a glass of water while I was still taking my shoes off. I saw her freeze in the doorway.

"Alice?" I asked, putting my shoes away in the corner. I stood watching her.

She stood in the doorway, her profile facing me. She started to back up, her face still frozen. Her moth widened, and she backed into the wall opposite the kitchen doorway. She slumped down to the floor, pulling her knees up to her chest, resting her arms at her sides. Her face was still agape. At this point, I was running to see what was wrong.

I looked in the kitchen, and screamed.

My mother was on the floor, still. There was a broken glass at her side, and she was lying in a puddle of orange juice.

I just stared in shock.

I heard Alice get up from behind me, but after that, nothing. Out of the corner of my eye I saw her call someone on her phone.

Then, everything went black.

**A/N**

**Cliffhangers are fun, aren't they?**

**I hope that everyone had safe and eventful holidays!**

**Also, I'd like to thank everyone that has reviewed this story thus far. Your reviews always make my day, and I'm really glad that everyone is enjoying the story =]**

**OH, and before I forget. The song used in this chapter is 'Painted By Numbers' by The Sounds. Also, I mentioned the songs How to Save a Life by the Fray and Piano Man by Billy Joel. That one there is definitely an oldie but goodie =P**


	21. Chapter 21: Strong

**EPOV**

_Ring…..ring…..ring_

"Come on, Alice, pick up", I thought to myself.

_Ring…..ring….ring_

"Alice! Godfuckingdamnit", I mumbled under my breath.

_Ring….. "Hey, you've reached Alice! I can't come to the phone right now…"_

"SHIT!" I literally screamed, throwing my phone into the empty passenger seat of my car. Why the fuck isn't she picking up?

I had gotten a call from her while I was at the store. Stupidly, I left my phone in the car. I listened to the voicemail, and it was really hard to understand what she was saying. For one, she was crying, and two, the reception was terrible. It sounded like something along the lines of: _"Edward……Renee…..floor…..Bella…..unconscious….._", then something about Carlisle.

I tried calling her again, and after the second ring, she finally picked up.

"Edward!" she yelled into the phone. She was frantic.

"You have to get to Bella's house fast. There's an emergency", she slurred.

"Alice…calm down. Tell me what happened," I said calmly, pulling out of the store's parking lot.

"Bella's mom is unconscious and lying on her kitchen floor. Bella fainted. We need to get Renee to a hospital. I already called an ambulance." she said. The panic was still evident in her voice, but when she told me this, my heart rate picked up, and I pressed down the gas pedal a little harder. Bella needed me. Now.

"Edward, can you call Emmett, Jasper and Rose and meet us at the hospital? The ambulance just got here." she said. I could tell that she was moving and talking, and sure enough, I could hear sirens in the background.

"Where's Bella?" I asked instinctively. I needed to know if she was alright.

"I think she's in shock, actually. I've got her under control, Edward. Don't worry. Just, please, meet us at the hospital. I can't really talk right now."

She hung up after that, not letting me ask her any more questions.

I realized that I was going in the opposite direction of the hospital, and without thinking, I made a sharp U-turn in the middle of the street, earning a few angry honks from the cars passing me. I couldn't care less, though. I NEEDED to get to Bella. And fast.

As I was speeding to the hospital, I took out my phone and called Emmett. He was with Jasper and Rose already, so I didn't need to call all three of them. I put my phone on speaker.

"Edward!" Emmett sang into the phone. He sounded very happy. This just made the call even harder to make.

"Hey, Emmett. Look, something happened. We can't do the plans tonight", I said. Emmett cut me off before I could finish.

"What happened? Why not?" he said, now sounding worried.

"It's your mom, Emmett. I need you to get to the hospital right now, I'll explain more when you get there," I said and hung up. I was now pulling into the parking lot.

Right when I parked, an ambulance raced onto the premises, and rushed onto the loading dock. I saw doctors frantically running outside to help, and I saw Bella and Alice getting out of the car, followed by Renee on a stretcher. I ran over to them.

When Bella saw me, she rushed out of Alice's hold on her, and ran to me. She literally ran into me, and we almost fell backwards.

I caught her, and held her sobbing body to my chest. Everything was going so fast, Alice was already running alongside the stretcher into the building. I grabbed Bella's hand, and followed.

Everything around us was pure chaos. I saw nurses running in every direction, and doctors and other hospital staff pushing Renee into a room. Bella went back into shock after seeing her mother being rushed into a room, and I picked her up.

I carried Bella bridal style towards the waiting room. I sat down, and placed her next to me, still holding her head to my chest. I could hear her ragged breaths, and her tears were staining my shirt.

I hugged her tighter, and rested my cheek on the top of her head.

"Shhh, Bella. It's alright. I'm here. Everything is going to be alright," I soothed.

She looked up at me, and looked me in the eyes. What I saw nearly killed me.

Her eyes were filled with so much sorrow and sadness. I could almost feel my heart ripping in two. Her eyes were red and puffy, and her sunny disposition was completely gone. She looked dead. Her hair was matted and tangled.

I heard some yelling coming from the room where her mom was, and I saw Alice yelling at a nurse.

"I have to be in there! I need to know what's going on!" she said, trying to push past the nurse.

"Ma'am, Please, MA'AM. FAMILY ONLY! AGAIN, PLEASE GO TO THE WAITING ROOM!" the nurse yelled back, clearly annoyed.

Alice turned a bright red, and looked towards us. She calmed down when she saw how scared and pathetic Bella looked, and she rushed over to us.

"Oh, god, Bella. I am SO sorry. Everything's going to be alright," she said to her, rubbing her back. Bella still looked dead. There was now no emotion in her eyes.

"Edward, did you call Emmett like I asked you to?", Alice pushed, looking me in the eye.

Before I could answer her question, Emmett and Jasper rushed into the room.

"Where's Rose?" I asked, looking behind to see if she was following.

"She's parking the car," Jasper said, running over to Alice and pulling her into an iron grasp. Emmett had the same dead look that Bella had, and sat down, resting his head in his hands. He placed his elbows in his knees, and started to sob. I could only stare.

This was truly scary. Emmett was always so strong and carefree, seeing him in this state was truly mind blowing, in a completely heartbreaking way. I closed my eyes and stuck my face into Bella's hair, taking deep breaths. I could hear Rose enter and comfort Emmett. Alice started to cry now.

I didn't know what to feel or think. Bella had already lost her father, with whom she was extremely close to, and loved with all her heart. After he died, she was completely dependant on her mother. It must be unbearably for her right now…almost losing both parents within a year and a half. I would be going crazy if I was her.

The fact that Bella wasn't reacting terribly was truly amazing. She stayed put in my grasp, calmed. She was still a wreck, but she was no longer in hysterics. She was so strong right now, and it made me idolize her. If it was possible for me to fall even deeper in love with her, I just did. She gave me the inspiration to be strong for the two of us, and I slowly loosened my grasp on her.

When she felt me try to let her go, her eyes shot up to me again, questioningly. I took her hand, and kissed it, bringing us both to a standing position.

I led her stiff body towards the room where her mother was, and knocked on the door.

The nurse that had yelled at Alice answered it, and I was able to see into the room through the crack where the door was opened. I could see her mother lying in bed, with a bunch of tubes and needles in her body. She was asleep, and her hair was even more matted then Bella's. She was also super pale, and there was a crowd of people surrounding her bed.

"Yes?" the nurse asked, looking down at us.

"This is Bella Swan, her daughter," I replied. A look of recognition swept over her face, and I heard a familiar voice call from the room.

"Edward, Is that you?" I heard my father say. He stepped into view, and he looked very strict. He was in doctor mode.

He took a look at Bella, and his features softened.

"Here you two," he said as he opened the door wider and motioning for us to come in. "Come on in".

We walked in slowly, Bella's eyes fixed on the sleeping form of her mother. I could feel her heart rate speed up, and I started to rub soothing circles into the palm of her hand. This seemed to help her calm down a little.

"Do you know what happened yet?" I asked hesitantly. I didn't need to freak Bella out even more than she already was.

"Well, we checked her vitals, and it looks like a heart attack," one of the other doctors said. My father continued.

"We took a blood sample and are waiting for the results to come back so that we can confirm this". Bella tensed up, and walked out of my grasp towards her mother.

She took her mother's hand in both of hers, and started to rub her mother's palm, mimicking my actions. Bella pushed some of her hair behind her ear, and kissed her mother's forehead.

"Is she going to be ok?" Bella asked, looking down at her mother.

"We are going to need to get some more tests done, keep her here for observation, and then we'll know if she recovers fully or not. We've barely had her here for 30 minutes, so we can't tell anything.

"How long is she going to be here for observation?" she asked again. This time, her features hardened, and she looked up from her mother. She was taking charge.

"Probably the next two weeks or so", he said.

"Thanks, I'll go tell Emmett," she said. Before she got up to go, she kissed her mother's hand once again. I walked over to help her.

"Bella," my dad said, opening the door for us. She looked up at him.

"I want you and your brother to stay at our house while your mother's here. I don't think it would be very good for you two to stay home alone for such a long period of time," he said, putting his hand on her shoulder. I brightened up at this. Bella would be staying with us for the next two weeks!

She just nodded, and kept walking. When she was halfway out of the doorway, she paused and turned around. I looked at her as she gave my father a hug.

"Thank you so much, Carlisle. I really appreciate all you're doing for my brother and me," she said.

"Don't worry about it, Bella. Edward, why don't you take her and Emmett back to their house so that they can get their stuff together?" my dad said. I nodded, and wrapped my arm around Bella's waist. She leaned into me, and we walked back to the waiting room.

The car ride back to their house was silent for the most part. Bella sat in the passenger seat next to me, and Alice sat next to Emmett in the back. Rose and Jasper went home, and planned on coming over first thing in the morning.

"So what do you guys want to do for dinner?" Alice asked, trying to brighten the mood. Emmett looked over at her, shrugged, and turned to look out the window. It had begun to rain.

I turned to look at Bella while we were stopped at a red light, and I took her hand in mine. She looked over at me, and let a small smile appear on her face. I smiled back at her, and she leaned over to rest her head on my shoulder. We were content in this position, and she even turned on the radio. We let the music of Blue Foundation fill the car. It seemed to fit the mood, so no one debated.

_I'll seek you out,  
__Flay you alive  
__One more word and you won't survive  
__And I'm not scared of your stolen power _

_I'll see right through you any hour  
__I won't soothe your pain  
__I won't ease your strain  
__You'll be waiting in vain  
__I got nothing for you to gain_

_I'm taking it slow  
__Feeding my flame  
__Shuffling the cards of your game_

_And just in time  
__In the right place  
__Suddenly I will play my ace_

_I won't soothe your pain  
__I won't ease your strain  
__You'll be waiting in vain  
__I got nothing for you to gain_

_Eyes on fire  
__Your spine is ablaze  
__Felling any foe with my gaze_

_And just in time  
__In the right place  
__Steadily emerging with grace_

_Felling any foe with my gaze  
__Steadily emerging with grace  
__Felling any foe with my gaze  
__Steadily emerging with grace_

"I love that song," Bella said.

"It's a good one, alright," I replied, glad that she wants to talk. I knew that things are extremely difficult for her.

"I'll have my mom make us a nice dinner. How does lasagna sound?" I asked.

Alice perked up at that, I could tell that she was still trying to brighten up our moods.

"Oh gosh, Bella! The next two weeks are going to be so much fun! You'll stay in my room with me, Emmett, you can stay with Edward in his, and we can have a party every night!" she chirped.

I smirked and rolled my eyes. Typical Alice. I knew what she was doing, trying to make this glum situation into a good one. She was always looking out for others, and that's why we love her so much.

"Hell yeah!" Emmett replied. Bella turned around immediately, a confused expression on her face. Emmett just laughed.

"Bells come on! Mom wouldn't want us to be sad and depressed about this, would she? Be happy. For her", he said.

I looked at her, and nodded. "He has a point, Bella. Two full weeks of living with me, there will be nothing sad about that. Got it?" I said 'sternly' as I pulled up in front of our house. She laughed and nodded, and got out of the car.

"I'll help you get your stuff, Bella," Alice said, grabbing her hand and running to the house.

"Come on, man. Let's go get your stuff together too," I told Emmett as we got to the sidewalk.

We reached his house, and went inside. The girls had run straight up to Bella's room, and Emmett and I walked into the kitchen. I froze in my tracks when I saw that the broken glass of orange juice was still there.

"Shit, man, go upstairs. I'll get this," I told Emmett who was frozen in the doorway looking at the mess. He nodded thanks, and went upstairs.

I grabbed a broom and dustpan from the front closet, and went back to the kitchen. I got up all the glass first, and used a rag to get the orange juice up too. The floor was spotless when I was done.

I was at the sink wringing out the rag when I heard a cough from behind me.

I turned around to see Bella leaning in the doorway.

"You didn't have to do that, you know," she said, making her way over to me.

"It was nothing," I said as she reached me. She looked up into my eyes, and I took my hand to move some of her hair behind her ear.

"Edward," she sighed as I leant down to kiss her.

The kiss was sweet. Our lips synched together perfectly, and I never wanted it to end. In the kiss, all of the drama disappeared. It was just us. We were the only thing that mattered, and everything else was forgotten. Every feeling of love that we had for each other poured out into the kiss, and it was heavenly. We pulled apart when we heard Alice calling Bella from upstairs, and I hugged her. I wanted her to know that I would do anything for her, and that I was there for her. She seemed to get the message, and looked back up at me.

"Thanks, Edward, for everything," she said, pulling me closer to her. It was pure bliss to have her in my arms, and I was now really looking forward to the next two weeks.

The next week was extremely hectic. Bella's family over in Evanston were all freaking out about her mother, and were all asking for Bella and Emmett to go and stay with them for a while. Bella and Emmett of course rejected, on the accounts of school and Renee. It was way to close to finals to go anywhere, and they liked having the comfort of being close to her.

At school, Bella and Emmett were ambushed by everyone pressing them for details about her, even their teachers were asking.

We found out the day after the incident that Renee had overdosed on sleeping aids, as there was a large amount of them in her bloodstream. The doctors concluded that it was an overdose-induced heart attack, and that was why it was taking her so long to wake up.

Because it was taking her so long to wake up and respond to the treatments, they had officially announced that Renee was in a state of comatose. The heart attack with the overdose made a huge impact on her entire body, and now we knew that there was a chance that Bella and Emmett would be with us for more than two weeks. Everyone was of course being optimistic, seeing the glass half full, so Bella and Emmett were taking the news strangely well.

Emmett was staying over at Rose's house tonight, leaving me to have my room to myself. This was nice, not only because Emmett snored really loudly, but because Bella could come and stay with me tonight if she wanted. I knew that she would, of course, so it didn't surprise me that at 11 she came in quietly, lifted my covers, and crawled in next to me.

Neither of us said anything, nothing needed to be said. She snuggled up against me, resting her head on my chest. I could smell her shampoo, strawberry, and buried my nose in her hair. I fell asleep to her scent and the sound of her even breathing. It was at that point that I knew that everything was going to be alright, as long as we had each other.

**A/N:**

**Again, I would like to thank all of my wonderful reviewers! It makes my day to see new reviews, and as cliché as this might sound, they push me to update faster.**

**Also: I might not get to update super fast again…I have finals in a matter of three weeks, so my teachers are really cramming us with homework. For the next update…I would guess the earliest I can have it done is next weekend. I'll try my hardest to update sooner, though. The song in this chapter is Eyes On Fire by Blue Foundation. It's off the twilight soundtrack, just in case anyone wants to hear it. It's a really good song =]**


	22. Chapter 22: Wonderwall

**BPOV**

Of course it had to be raining. It always rains.

Edward, Emmett, Rose and I headed into the Forks police station so that we could be asked a few questions about mine and Emmett's mother. It's been three weeks, and she is still showing no sign of response, whatsoever. Emmett and I got over the initial shock of being somewhat motherless after about a week, and we visit her twice a day, everyday.

Emmett and I got called in to the police station so that the investigation revolving around our mother could gain some more information. Rose and Edward, being the best friends that we could ever have, came with us for moral support. In my opinion, this just gave me another reason to love him.

We walked through the big double doors that led to the front lobby of the police station. I glanced around, and saw a big desk with some people standing behind it, taking calls and writing stuff down. There were stacks and stacks of bookshelves filled with files and books lining the walls, and there was a small sitting area where there were a few people sitting in the lumpy-looking couches that were provided. I could see one person asleep, resting his head oh the armrest, and a mother sitting with her screaming baby, trying to get her to calm down. There was also a young woman reading one of the ancient magazines that were provided.

Everyone sat down as I went up to the front desk.

"Hi, my name is Isabella Swan. My brother and I are here about our mother, Renee Swan? She's been in a coma at Forks Township Hospital for the past three weeks," I stated proudly. I find it important to be strong around cops…even if you aren't in trouble. The lady behind the front desk looked up, and nodded.

"Ah yes, Isabella Swan. My name is Jane, and I will be one of the officers asking you some questions. Is your brother here yet?" she asked. I nodded, and called out to Emmett. He stood up along with Rose and Edward, and they approached us.

"Who are they?" Jane asked, talking about Rose and Edward.

"This is my boyfriend Edward, and this is Emmett's girlfriend Rose. They're here for moral support," I said. Jane nodded.

"Alright, please follow me,".

We followed her through a door that lead to a long hallway, which had about 5 doors on each side of the passage. I'm guessing that they were interrogation rooms and offices.

Jane stopped about halfway down the hall, and led us into a room that looked like an office. It had a huge mahogany desk in the middle that was stacked with a high-tech computer, and a lot of files. It was very neat. On the walls there were more bookshelves, but there were also framed newspaper articles and random paintings. There was also a huge window covering one side of the wall that overlooked the forest. It was a really pretty view.

There were two chairs in front of the desk, and Jane realized that we needed two more to seat Edward and Rose. She excused herself to go get them.

While she was getting the chairs, I walked around the office, taking note of the small things. So this is what a cop's office looks like. Hmm. Pretty fancy.

I looked at the name plate on the desk, and in gold calligraphy etched into a wooden slab of wood read 'Detective Aro Volturi'. I traced the name with my index finger. It was really smooth.

I felt someone place a hand on my shoulder, and I knew it was Edward. I could distinguish his touch anytime. I put my hand on top of his, keeping it in it's place.

Jane walked back in, holding two fold-up chairs under her left arm. She placed them next to the first two chairs, and excused herself to go get the other officer that was going to be helping her with the questioning. She made it sound so…serious.

I sat down in one of the nicer chairs, and Edward sat down next to me. Emmett took his place next to him, and Rose sat in the last one.

Jane walked into the room again, but this time, she was followed by a man. He was very tall, and had extremely pale skin. That was common in Forks, though, because of the overcast normality. He had long, jet black hair, and it was pulled into a pony tail. He was wearing borderline formal/casual clothes. He looked like your typical, clichéd detective. His gun holster stood out the most, though.

"Good afternoon. My name is Aro Volturi, and I am the detective in charge of your mother's case. Which ones of you are Emmett and Isabella?," he said with a friendly tone. He smiled after, exposing his amazingly perfect teeth. They almost shone in the light, they were so white.

Emmett and I stood up, and he extended his hand so that we could shake it. After the introductions, we sat back down.

"Jane, could you please get us all some water?" he asked her. She nodded and got up to go.

"Alright, lets get down to business," he said, pulling out a small tape recorder from a drawer in his desk, and setting it on top of it. He pressed a button on it, and looked over to me. I gulped.

I knew I shouldn't be scared, I mean, I wasn't in trouble. We were just here so that the police can have more details on our mother. It was just that Detective Volturi looked, well…scary.

I told my story to him, and he jotted down some notes. Jane returned, and handed us each a cup of water. I thanked her.

Emmett started with his story after, and Aro continued to take notes.

Jane was the next one to speak after we finished our stories.

"Were either of you aware that she was taking the sleeping aids?", she asked.

"No, we had no idea," I said, glancing over to Emmett. He just nodded in confirmation to what I said.

"It was a shocker, actually," he stated.

Jane looked over to Aro, and he wrote something else down. She leaned onto the desk, crossing her legs, trying to become more comfortable.

"Do either of you know why she would be taking them?", she continued.

"Well, after our father died, she started to have nightmares. They lasted for about a month, and then they died down. Sometimes I would wake up to hear her screaming at night. They stopped eventually, though, so our life was able to get back to normal," Emmett answered. Recognition dawned on my face, I looked to see that the same look was plastered on Emmett's. Edward took my hand, and squeezed. I'm guessing that he caught on as well.

"I see. So can you please tell us a little about your father? How and when did he die?", Aro asked.

I took a deep breath and began to answer.

"Well, Our father was the Chief of Police in the town we used to live in, Evanston, Illinois. He was shot and killed in a shootout near mine and Emmett's school about a year ago."

I looked over to Emmett and Rose when I finished, and Emmett looked back at me with a sullen look on his face. He was still sensitive about our father. So was I for that matter, but the cops needed to know.

"We are very sorry for your loss. It seems to me though, that your mother started to take the sleeping medication to ease the nightmares. She was found, you said, in a puddle of spilt orange juice, so I'm guessing that she might have taken a dose bigger than the recommended usage with the drink, and that the acid in said drink reacted with the pills negatively," Jane continued, looking us in the eyes. She looked over to Aro, and he nodded.

"We have the test results from the hospital in your mother's file, and saw that the cause of the coma was a heart attack, caused by the overdose."

They were just telling us stuff that we already knew. I just nodded.

"So those are the facts that we know. There are still some gaps in the story, though, like why she took a high dosage to begin with. Do either of you know a man named Phil Dwyer?", Jane asked.

I had never heard that name before. I shook my head. Emmett did the same.

"Who is he?," Emmett asked.

"Well, we have reason to believe that your mother is currently in a relationship with him," she said.

I could almost hear my jaw hit the floor.

"That's not possible. Our mother never told us that she was seeing somebody else," Emmett said.

Jane just shook her head. "Well, it is possible, actually. We have witness accounts from where your mother works that there was a man that would come and visit her, bringing flowers and other little gifts to her. She probably just didn't tell you," Jane continued. She was starting to sound a little cold and bitchy. She just threw out the fact that my mother was dating someone into the blue, not taking in our emotions at all.

"Where is he?" I asked. If this was true, I was going to meet this man.

"I'm afraid that that information is confidential," Aro added. I had almost forgotten that he was there.

"That's bullshit!", Emmett practically yelled. "Look. If there was someone that my mom was dating, then We, her children, have the right to know who." He said the word 'dating' in air quotes.

"Emmett, stop." I looked to Aro. "Look. Is it alright if I ask why you waited until three weeks into the investigation to call us in for questioning? Shouldn't that have been the first thing on your list?" I asked.

"Well, there were some things that we had to work out first, and get all the information from the hospital before we could begin. So you both are absolutely POSITIVE that you don't know who Phil Dwyer is?", Jane asked again. This time she sounded annoyed. What the hell could she possibly be annoyed about? Did she not believe us?

"Yes, we are ABSOLUTELY sure," Emmett replied, sounding just as annoyed as she did. Aro shot him a look.

"Mr. Swan, please. Watch your temper. We are just going through the mandatory guidelines that we must follow." Rose patted Emmett's hand, and he visibly calmed down.

"Bella," Jane started, getting up off of the desk and pacing the room, "Were you angry at your mother for forcing you to move to Forks?" she asked.

Why would she be asking that? "Of course not!" I stated. She looked bemused.

"Bella, I'm sure you felt some emotion towards her for having you guys move. You had to leave all of your friends and family, leave the hustle and bustle that is Chicago, just to come to a small little wet town in Washington. You didn't feel upset at all?" She questioned. She stated it like she was already sure that she knew the answer.

"Actually, Chicago was noisy. And busy. I like Washington. It's peaceful. I was glad to leave Evanston, because I didn't want to have to stay in the place where my father died. I would have been too depressed to stay there. Plus, I understood that my mother couldn't afford to keep our house there, and I was actually exited to move. I couldn't stand all of the people in Evanson feeling bad for me. It was too much attention. Does that answer your question?" I replied. Jane looked at me wide-eyed for a few seconds, and shook her head, looking like she was a little shocked from my answer. She turned to Emmett next, and asked the same thing.

"Well, I was a little upset, leaving all my friends behind, but I'm sort of with Bella on that one."

"Okay, then." Jane walked over to Aro, and said something into his ear. They both got up, and excused themselves from the room.

When they left, Emmett spoke up.

"What the hell was that about?"

Rose looked at him, then at me, and shrugged.

"I'm starting to get the feeling that they think that one of you guys were involved in what happened to your mother," Edward said.

"What? That's dumb! She's our mother!" I said.

"Did you see the way that Jane was looking at you guys? It was like she didn't trust you, let alone not believe anything that you guys were saying," Rose added.

"Exactly!", Edward exclaimed.

"Then what the hell was the point of them calling us in here in the first place if they weren't going to believe us either way?" Emmett asked.

"Standard procedure?" I answered warily, earning a groan from Emmett.

"I really don't have time for this," he said, getting up.

Right when he was getting up, Aro and Jane entered the room again. Emmett sat right back down, staring at them.

"First, Jane and I would like to thank you for coming in today, we have all the information that we needed. We would also like to apologize if this meeting was in any way an inconvenience for you. Second, if there is anything else that we need to know, we will call to find out. We also send our best wishes towards your mother. You all can now go if you would like.

*****

**EPOV**

After the meeting, we all went out to lunch to meet up with Alice and Jasper, and tell them what happened at the meeting.

We met them at a small diner in the heart of Forks, called 'The Lodge'.

We took our seats at a large table to make sure that there would be enough space for everyone, and looked over the menus.

After we ordered, Alice started with the questioning. We filled them in on everything that went down.

"Wow, that must have been scary! It was like they actually thought that you were involved with what happened to your mom," Jasper said. Alice just nodded in agreement with him.

"It wasn't too bad, I guess. Jane was incredibly annoying, though. It was like she was trying to get into my head, and use that information to torture me into saying what she wanted, whatever that was," Bella said. I took her hand and held it on the table when she was done. She must have been really angry.

I didn't say anything during the exchange with the cops, but I could sense that they were feeling just as uncomfortable being there as we were. Their body language said it all.

We got our food and dug in. We stayed there for about another hour, conversing and enjoying everyone's company. The guys paid the bill, and we headed out.

Emmett and Rose had a date later that night, so they went home to get ready. Alice and Jasper went back to our house, and I took Bella to the hospital to see her mother.

The drive was comfortable. We talked some more, made plans for the evening, and enjoyed each others company.

After parking in the visitor's lot of the parking lot, Bella and I entered the building.

It was always the same in there. The waiting room was partially full, there were doctors and nurses running around, doing their daily routines, and it smelled of anti bacterial soap. I saw my father from across the hall, and Bella and I approached him.

"Hey there, kids," he said with a smile. "How did the meeting go?"

I filled him in on everything that happened as Bella went to see her mother. We followed her after a minute, and my dad started to give us an update.

"Well, she's the same as she was this morning, Bella. She's still not responding," he said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Thanks again for all your doing, Carlisle. I really can't thank you enough," she said, giving him a hug.

Bella has told me numerous times how much she loves my parents. She described them as a second family…and I told her that they consider her and Emmett to be one of their own.

Bella walked over to her mother's side, and sat down in the chair that was placed next to the bed. She took her mom's hand in her left hand, and began to stroke her mother's hair with her right. Bella looked distraught, her eyes were aimed at her mother's face, but they seemed to be looking miles away.

"What happened to you mom?", Bella asked her mother in a whisper.

I walked over to Bella's side. When she saw me, she stood up and gave me a hug. I hugged her back, squeezing her closer to me. We fit together perfectly, it seemed.

My father was leaning in the doorway, with his arms crossed over his chest. We heard some beeping, and looked over to him.

"That's my pager. I have to go, but you guys can stay longer if you'd like."

Bella walked over to him and gave him a hug before he left. "Thanks again, Carlisle," She said.

"Don't worry about it, Bella. She's going to be fine. We're doing everything in our power to make it so," he said. He then turned around and left, leaving Bella in the doorway.

I went over to her, and grabbed her hand. We walked hand in hand back to the car, content.

The drive home was great. Then again, anytime spent alone with Bella was great.

She put one of my CD's into the CD player, and we lost ourselves in Pink Floyd.

*****

**BPOV**

It was times like these that my love for Edward overflowed out of my very being. I know that sounded cheesy, but it was pure bliss being with him. I took a big breath, taking in his scent. It became my favorite kind of perfume…and it was all natural. The best kind of perfume, in my opinion.

We got to his house, and immediately went upstairs to his room. We laid down on his bed, and just laid there. We didn't talk, we just looked at each other. It was amazing.

"Hey Bella?", Edward asked quietly.

"Hmm?", I responded.

"Can you play me something on your guitar?", he asked.

"I think that's manageable," I answered with a smile. He flashed me a crooked grin, and pointed at my guitar, on it's stand next to his desk. I slowly got up to get it.

I grabbed my guitar, and sat down on the end of the bed. I began to play the first song that came to mind.

_Today is gonna be the day  
__That they're gonna throw it back to you  
__By now you should've somehow  
__Realized what you gotta do  
__I don't believe that anybody feels the way I do  
__About you now_

_Backbeat, the word was on the street  
__That the fire in your heart is out  
__I'm sure you've heard it all before  
__But you've never really had a doubt  
__I don't believe that anybody feels the way I do  
__About you now_

_And all the roads we have to walk are winding  
__And all the lights that lead us there are blinding  
__There are many things that I would like to say to you  
__But I don't know how_

_Because maybe  
__Your gonna be the one that saves me  
__And after all  
__You're my wonder wall_

_Today was gonna be the day  
__But they'll never throw it back to you  
__By now, you should've somehow  
__Realized what you're not to do  
__I don't believe that anybody feels the way I do  
__About you now_

_And all the roads that lead you there are winding  
__And all the lights that light the way are blinding  
__There are many things that I would like to say to you  
__But I don't know how_

_I said maybe  
__You're gonna be the one that saves me  
__And after all  
__You're my wonder wall_

_I said maybe  
__You're gonna be the one that saves me  
__And after all  
__You're my wonder wall_

I put my guitar down, and Edward pulled me back into his bed against him.

"That was beautiful, love," he said in my ear, sending shivers up and down my spine.

"Edward, don't do that!", I said, turning a little breathless.

"Don't do what, love?" he asked, placing a kiss on the crook between my neck and shoulder.

"Don't dazzle me. Your making me all tingly," I said.

He raised his head at this, and became eye level with me. There was an emotion behind his eyes…I've seen that look before. Only once, though…the night that we first…

"Tingly?" he cut off my thoughts. His voice was really low and raspy.

I just looked at him, and my gaze slowly faltered down towards his lips.

"Mhmm…," I mumbled as his lips came crashing down on mine.

We made out for a few minutes, and I could tell that this was going somewhere. I got exited just from the thought of it.

"Edward.." I breathed out. He broke away and looked at me.

"Not here. Your family's home," I managed to say. He groaned and rolled off of me.

"Where then?" he asked. I laughed.

"Wow, desperate much?" I asked with a laugh. He shot me a look that sent a wave of emotion straight down between my legs. I was suddenly struck with an idea.

"Put your shoes on and follow me…I know a place," I said getting up and running out of his room. He was close behind me when I bolted out of the front door and ran to my house.

"You, Isabella Swan, are a genius. An extremely lovable one," he said as he pulled me up the stairs into my room.

"You, Edward Cullen, are the best thing to grace this earth since sliced bread," I said as he kicked the door to his room shut.

And again, I was in pure bliss.

**A/N:**

**WOOT! Sexy time for Bella and Edward! I know that I owe ALL of you loyal readers an apology. I believe that the last time that I updated was about three weeks ago, and I am very, very sorry for the delay. On a brighter note, I am done with finals now so I have more time on my hands =] I've also been getting some comments from people asking to make Edward and Bella's first time a lemon, and I really am considering it. Sorry if I didn't get to reply back to you all about that, but again, I've been REALLY busy. Hopefully that last scene let you all forgive me for the delay. The song in this chapter is Wonderwall by Oasis. **


	23. Chapter 23: Finally

**BPOV**

The next two weeks went by in a blur. Between hospital visits, school, family issues, I hardly had any time for myself.

My Aunt Jodie was devastated when she heard about my mother, and pretty much begged for Emmett and I to go stay with her so that we have family to watch over us. She understood where we were coming from when we told her that we didn't want her to go out of her way for us, and that we were fine staying with the Cullen's. She ended up sending Esme a check for the money that she was spending on us, even though Esme claimed that it wasn't necessary at all.

How much longer would my mother be in the coma though? It's already been a month and a half. On the bright side, not that there is a bright side to having a half-dead mother, Edward and I have gotten much closer.

We would sneak off back to my house to hang out with people, or just to spend some quality time alone. I would also go there to get away from things, and to just have some time to myself. It felt weird not having my mother around…I felt as if Emmett and I were alone. We knew that we couldn't stay with the Cullen's forever, but if our mother, god forbid, actually died, then we would really be on our own. We would either have to find a place and keep up the rent and everything ourselves, or go back to Evanston to stay with family. The first idea could work…our dad left us a pretty hefty inheritance, and Emmett was 18 so we would legally be able to own his own place. We never really thought this through though, we were sure that our mother would recover eventually.

Ugh. Eventually. I can't tell if that was a pessimistic or optimistic thought.

It was now coming to the point where finals were just a matter of two weeks away. Two weeks until Emmett graduated. Two weeks until school was out for the summer. Two weeks until I became a senior. Life was moving very, very fast. Too fast for my liking.

Edward and I helped each other study every chance that we got. I was extremely good in English, and he was amazing at pretty much everything else. He was excellent at English too, though, so he didn't really need me. Edward was extremely smart.

Alice was also really smart. She didn't need to study all that much, and she was much less panicked about things than I was. She and Jasper had spent practically every waking moment of last week at his house, doing god knows what.

Emmett and Rose had gone on a little trip to Seattle for the weekend, attending some car show that Rose had bought them tickets for, leaving Edward, Alice, Jasper and I to make do with plans between us for the weekend.

Today, Edward and I spent the day at my house. We were planning on watching some movies and hanging out just the two of us, maybe get a little studying in too.

Edward and I were hanging out in my bed listening to some soft music. He had fallen asleep after a bit, and I laid there watching him. His chest would rise and fall with his every breath, and I kept on noticing his perfection. I was still comprehending the fact that he was _mine_.

Eventually, my stomach began to growl. It was loud. Edward shifted a little, but then became very still. I chuckled. I slowly got up to go to the kitchen and scrounge around for something to munch on, being very careful as not to wake him up.

I crept down the stairs carefully, made my way to the kitchen. When I was opening the fridge, my phone began to vibrate in my pocket. I pulled it out, and checked the caller ID.

Carlisle.

"Hey, Carlisle. What's up?" I asked. I heard a bunch of noise on the other line; he was at the hospital.

"Bella?" He asked, in a rushed voice. My breath started to hitch in panic. Was something wrong?

"Yeah?" I asked hesitantly.

"You need to get everyone over to the hospital pronto," he said. "Your mother woke up".

"Mom?" I asked, reaching out to hold her hand from the other side of the hospital bed.

"Mmm?" she mumbled, slowly turning her head towards me. She looked like a wreck, but I was still overjoyed that she was up.

"You okay?" I asked hesitantly, placing my hand on her forehead, moving her hair from out of her eyes.

"Bella?" she asked, squeezing my hand.

"I'm here, mom," I said in a whisper, a tear falling from my eye. "It's ok, everything is ok."

Edward came over to me, and wiped the tear from my cheek.

"Edward?" my mother asked warily.

"Yes, Renee. It's me," he replied, placing a hand on my shoulder. I put my hand over his, and squeezed it, more tears falling from my eyes.

There was a flurry of emotions running through me. I was deeply overjoyed that my mother was alright, but even so, she looked to be a wreck. I didn't even want to even imagine the pain that she might have felt when she was unconscious, and I was also hoping that she can make a full recovery. None of that other stuff mattered, though. My mom was ok!

Emmett was probably the happiest out of all of us, which was saying a lot. As soon as he heard that Mom was awake, he rushed to the hospital so fast that he got there before everyone else. Edward was still asleep when I got the call, but he woke up without a second thought when I jostled him awake and told him what happened. It was him that literally jumped out of bed grabbed my arm, racing downstairs and out the front door. We were moving so fast that I almost forgot to lock it.

Carlisle entered the room soon, and let us know that we couldn't be there for much longer, that she needed some more rest. He also let us know that they needed to keep her longer to run some more tests now that she was awake, and that she would have to be questioned like we were.

Edward wanted to take me out to dinner, but I rejected his invitation. We had been at the hospital for 5 hours before they had finally kicked us out. I was extremely tired.

I ended up skipping dinner altogether. As soon as we got back to his house, I fell asleep in Edward's bed.

That night, I dreamt of the day that my mother would come home. Emmett and I were out on our front steps, standing side by side as we watched our mother walk up the walkway. She was carrying all of her bags, and had a great big smile on her face. All of a sudden, a man came up to her, picked her up, and ran away with her. I started to run after them, but he was too fast. All of her bags went flying everywhere, but she looked…happy? Was she happy that the man had come and taken her away? Was she comfortable being in the stranger's arms? I kept running, but faster I ran, the farther away he got. I didn't give up. The setting around me started to change colors, and I started to feel dizzy. In my dream, I fell.

As I fell, I woke up with a start. I sat straight up in the bed, and took in my surroundings. I was in Edward's room, in my pajamas, under his covers. Edward was sleeping next to me, but slowly woke up when he saw me.

"Bella?" he asked groggily, rubbing his eyes and leaning up on one elbow. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just had a really weird dream, that's all," I said. I laid back down, staring up at the ceiling.

"Want to talk about it?" he asked, placing his hand on my cheek. His thumb began to caress my skin.

"No, it's fine. Really. Let's just go back to bed," I mumbled, leaning over to give him a quick kiss. He smiled and laid back down, snaking an arm around my waist, and pulled me closer. It didn't take long for him to fall back asleep. Me, on the other hand, I found it hard to fall back asleep.

My mother had woken up that day. She would be there for Emmett's graduation. She would be there for me to come home to every day. She would be able to be in my life again. On top of that, I had my best friend in the entire world sleeping next to me, holding me close. He was the person that helped me through my tough times, and without him, I wouldn't have been able to get over the shock of not having my mother. It was moments like these, when I was thinking about all that he did for me, that I loved him the most.

I turned my head so that I could inhale his scent, and kissed his head through his hair. I turned around in his arms so that I could face him, and rested my forehead against his. I was now able to fall asleep fast.

Life was good.

**A/N:**

**Sorry about the wait and the short update. Finals ended a few weeks ago, but I now have a new schedule and new classes, so I needed to take some time to adjust to everything. I PROMISE to update more frequently, though. **


	24. Chapter 24: Drama!

**EPOV**

Bella and Emmett were able to go home after their mother was released from the Hospital. Bella was happy that she was able to go back, saying that she didn't feel right intruding on our hospitality for so long. I tried to explain to her that it was a joy having her stay with us and that we all loved her dearly, but she still felt guilty. Emmett was feeling the same way.

For the last two days I wasn't able to see Bella that much, because her and Emmett decided to stay home with their mother. They were all coming over for dinner tonight, though, which I was happy about. Bella was practically glowing now that her mother was better.

I spent the day hanging out with Jasper in my room, listening to music and hanging out. We hadn't been able to actually hang out just the two of us in a while, because Alice was always hogging him. Her and Rose had decided to go out shopping for the day, so she wasn't home to bug us.

"So dude, now that it's getting warmer, we should go camping again like we did last year," Jasper said, lounging on my couch. I put in a CD that I had bought the day before, and chilled on my bed.

"That sounds cool," I said. "This weekend?"

"I'll have to see. Ask Bella and Emmett about it tonight, and I'll talk to Rose," he said, throwing a baseball that I had lying around up in the air repeatedly.

"Dude, what do you think happened with Bella and Emmett's mom? I don't think that anyone else knows who the hell Phil is yet," Jasper commented. I rolled my eyes.

"Well, Bella told me that she talked to her mom. Apparently Phil is her mom's boyfriend," I responded. Jasper sat up immediately, and looked at me to see if I was lying.

"Are you serious? Dude," he said.

"Yeah, bogus, I know. I mean, Emmett and Bella definitely had the right to know who their mom was dating. What makes it worse is that Bella thinks that she was stressed about it, and that's why she had to take the sleeping pills," I said. Jasper shook his head at this.

"Well, shit. Poor Bella and Emmett," he said, trailing off.

"Yeah, I know. Bella was really pissed this morning when she told me. I don't blame her," I told him. I mean, I would be pissed too, if my mother was secretly dating a guy that was the reason that she almost died. I realized now that Bella could really use a getaway for all of this stress that I'm sure that she is going through. Good thing Jasper brought up a camping trip.

"Get all the information you can get form her tonight, man. I like being kept in the loop with this stuff," he said.

"Dude, your sister is dating Emmett. Your kept in the loop," I said.

"Yeah, but that only means that I know how Emmett's doing. Bella's one of my best friends too, you know," he added.

"Yeah, that's true. I mean, Bella would probably dig deeper into her mother's brain to get all the dirty details than Emmett would. Emmett would probably not want to know all of that, he's probably just glad that his mom's alright," I said.

"Edward, I'm sure that Emmett cares," Jasper said, getting up and looking out the window. "Hey, Bella's in her room. She look's a little pissed," he said, motioning for me to go over to where he is.

"What, are you stalking my girlfriend now, Jazz?" I asked, shooting him a small look, and getting up to join him. He was right…Bella did look angry. She was pacing her room, with her hands joined behind her head, rolling her eyes, and pushing stuff out of her way. She sat down on the edge of her bed, and put her head in her hands. I didn't need to see anything else.

I grabbed Jasper's arm, and pulled him out of the room. We went outside, and jumped the fence that led to Bella's yard. We helped each other climb up onto her shed, and I tapped on her window.

Bella looked completely taken back by seeing us outside her window. She walked over to us, and slip the glass up to let us in.

"I have a door you know," she told us with a little attitude.

"Hey, don't snap at us! We came over to see how your doing," I said. Her face softened, and she sat back down on the bed. Jasper grabbed her stereo remote off of her nightstand, and turned on some music. I sat down next to her.

"What's up?" I asked. She rested her head on my shoulder, and I wrapped an arm around her waist, holding her to me.

"Well, apparently, Phil and my mom were going out for about 3 months," she said. Jasper and I gasped at the same time. He pulled up a chair in front of us, and turned it around so that he could lean forward on the back. Bella continued.

"She got really stressed out because she didn't want us to find out. She didn't think that we would approve of it, and she was scared that we would get mad at her for forgetting about Dad," she said. Her eyes narrowed as she said this, and her fists tightened. Her knuckles turned white she was squeezing her fists so hard. I took her fist in my hand and started to rub soothing circles on the back of her hand. Her hand loosened at my touch.

"The next part is the worst. They started getting into fights about how he wanted her to tell us, but she was being stubborn and said no. She started to take the sleeping pills so that she would be able to sleep at night and deal with the stress," she said with a sigh. "Guys, she's got a fucking addiction," she finished.

I was speechless. I seriously did not know what to say to this. I mean, I can totally see where her mom was coming from, but I was also a little torn about it. Bella looked up at me.

"Edward, she would rather get sick than tell me and Emmett about Phil. Do you know how much that hurts?" she asked with a small voice. A tear escaped down her cheek, and I wiped it off.

"Bella," Jasper started, "What she did was wrong. The thing is, I don't think that your mom meant for all of that to happen. She just wasn't ready to tell you guys yet," he said. Bella nodded, and looked up at him.

"I know that. I'm not mad about that. I'm mad because she let her relationship go to ruin because she was scared to tell us. After my dad died, my mom was never the same. I realized that right off the bat. Emmett did too. She had the opportunity to let something great happen and become happy again, but she was just too stubborn! I can't fucking believe that she let happiness slip right through her fingers like that. It's not fucking cool," she said. She stood up frustrated, and ran a hand through her hair. "I mean, how stupid is she? Emmett and I also had to suffer for a month while she was in the hospital, having no clue what the fuck was wrong with her, just because she decided to be fucking secretive with her social life. I tell her _everything_, and this is how she repays me. I just can't fucking wrap my mind around how completely stupid she was being!" she finished. I stood up and gave her a huge hug.

"Where is she?" I asked into her hair. She pulled away, and shook her head.

"In the kitchen with Emmett," she sighed. She turned around and looked at me with a thoughtful expression.

"Should you let her know that we're here?" Jasper asked. She shook her head.

"No, I'm going to leave them alone. If you think that I was upset when I learned all of that, you should have seen Emmett. They need to talk things through really badly," she told us.

"Bella, you and Emmett are coming camping with everyone this weekend," I said.

"Yeah, you guys don't have a choice," Jasper added. Bella nodded.

"That sounds great! I mean, I'm sure that Emmett would love to go. We could stand to get away from all the mom/Phil drama anyways," she said. I smiled.

"That's good that your so welcoming to the idea. I thought that I would have to drag you there, with you not being in the mood," I said with a chuckle.

"Edward, since when did you know me to turn down an invitation to go anywhere with you guys? I love camping!" she said. "Besides. It's a good distraction," she added.

"Sweet," Jasper said. "Oh, I almost forgot to ask you guys, do you want to help me plan a surprise party for Alice next weekend? It's her birthday," he asked. Leave it to Jasper to lighten the mood with talk about a party. I was glad that Alice was with him; he was a great friend.

"That sounds great, too. Let's talk about it later though. I still have shit to sort out with my mom," Bella said. Jasper nodded, and looked at me.

"You know I'm in. She's my sister!" I said. Jasper grinned and thanked us. All of a sudden, Bella's phone began to ring. Jasper and I sat down on her bed while she answered it.

_"Hello?…..Oh, Hey. Yeah, I was just………Mhmm……..No, she's fine………Yeah……….Okay, got it…………Actually, Can I call you back later? I'm sort of with people………..yeah……….Talk to you later! Bye Aunt Jodie………Love you too,"_ and with that, she hung up.

"How's my good old friend Jodie doing?" I asked her. She smiled.

"She's fine, just checking in with me about my mom. She's been doing that a lot lately," she said.

"I bet," I said.

"Hey, um, I hate to kick you out like this, but I still have to get ready for tonight," she said. I nodded, and Jasper and I headed back over to the window.

Jasper stepped out, and I was about to follow when she grabbed my wrist from behind, and spun me around to kiss me goodbye. It wasn't a long kiss, but it was deep and meaningful. She pulled away and looked me in the eye. "Thanks for coming over, you guys. I really needed it," she said.

"Your very welcome," I responded with a smile. She gave me a hug, and bid Jasper goodbye. He gave her a hug through the window, and he told her to take it easy. I made my way outside, and we climbed back down off the shed. Bella watched us from the window, and slid the glass back down after blowing me a kiss which set my heart racing. She still had a huge effect on me, and we had been dating for 5½ months now. I think that she's always going to effect me like this, which doesn't bother me one bit.

Jasper and I went back to my house, and we hung out until Alice and Rose came home. Rose and Jasper left in Rose's car, and Alice and I got ready for the Swan's to come over.

Alice and I were watching television in the front room when we heard the doorbell ring. Alice was the first to get to the door, squealing when she saw Bella, and pulling her into a hug. I walked into the room, and gave Emmett a fist bump. "Sup man?" he asked. I walked over to Bella and gave her a hug and a small peck on the lips. My mom and dad came into the room next, and greeted Renee. They walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table while Alice and I led Bella and Emmett back into the living room.

"My mom gave the a-ok for camping this weekend," Bella told us with a smile. I smiled back and Alice said "Sweet."

Emmett and I started to play Halo while Bella and Alice talked about school next to us. We followed this pattern for the next half hour, all having a blast and enjoying each other's company.

We got called into dinner, and sat down to a plateful of spaghetti.

The conversation at the table was the usual. My mother talked to Renee about Renee's health, and Renee thanked us once again for allowing Bella and Emmett to stay with us.

The four of us finished our dinners fast, and we all headed over to the park to meet up with Jasper and Rose. It was completely last minute, but they said that they would meet us.

Bella and I walked side by side, hand in hand. Alice and Emmett were joking around, telling each other Chuck Norris jokes to pass the time while going. It was the perfect time of day; Twilight. The sun was just about to set behind the trees, and it wasn't too cold, and it wasn't too hot.

We got to the park in a matter of minutes, and I raced Bella to the swing set. We battled each other for one of the swings, and she beat me to the one that I wanted. She stuck her tongue out at me jokingly, and I captured her mouth in a tender kiss. We were lost in our own little world, and didn't even notice that Jasper and Rose showed up. We heard a shreik, and broke apart to see what the commotion was.

Emmett and picked up Rose, and slung her over his shoulder. She was yelling at him to put her down, but laughing and joking at the same time. They were great together. Alice and Jasper were taking a walk around the path surrounding the field, enjoying each other's company. Bella kicked off her shoes next to me, and buried her feet in the sand. I mimicked her actions, and winced. The sand was really cold!

I kicked off the ground, and started to swing. She followed suit, and we raced to see who could swing the highest. When Bella got to the top, she jumped off the swing midair, and landed with a thud on the ground. She fell back onto the ground, and I got scared. "Bella!" I yelled out.

I immediately got off my swing to get to her side. She was laughing at my reaction, and I frowned.

"Bella, why would you do that? Don't scare me like that!" I told her with a serious face. She must have found this amusing, because she started to laugh really hard. I got down onto the ground next to her, and leaned back on my arms. All of a sudden, I felt someone throw sand on me.

"You didn't…"I told her. She started to laugh even more, and I got a huge grin on my face. "Alright…you've asked for it!" I said. Bella got up and started to run away, and I followed her really fast, shaking all the sand off the front of my shirt.

I chased Bella into the field, and it took a few seconds for me to catch up to her. I wrapped my arms around her waist, and pulled her down onto the ground, ignoring her yells. I pinned her down under me, resting my hands on either side of her face and looking down at her. She looked gorgeous with her hair fanned out beneath her and her smiling like there was no tomorrow. I leaned down and crashed my lips onto hers. She wrapped her arms around my neck, and pulled me down closer.

When we pulled away, I rested down on the grass next to her while she wrapped her arms around my stomach and laid her head on my chest. I snaked my arms around her waist, and we just laid there, listening to everyone else back on the playground. I looked down at Bella, and she had a small frown playing on her lips.

"Bella? What's wrong?" I asked. She looked up, and shook her head.

"I'm just still angry about my mom. She STILL doesn't want us to meet Phil. Apparently they broke up," she said. "I don't know what to do. She can't just ignore the last month like it didn't happen," she finished.

"Give her time. I'm sure that everything will work out for the best," I assured her. She smiled, and nodded.

"Your right. I can't keep letting all of this drama take ahold of me, right? Let's talk about this weekend!" she exclaimed happily.

We started to talk about the possible plans for camping, and soon our minds were off of her mother. Everyone else came over and sat next to us, and we all started to hang out and have fun.

Looking around at all of my friends cause a small smile to form on my lips. I was so happy I was practically glowing. Bella noticed this, and smiled at me, taking my hand. I picked up our interlocked hands, and kissed hers.

I didn't want this night to end.

**A/N:**

**I hope that everyone finds that to be a good update...it was just a filler chapter to help explain the stuff that went down with Renee. I thought that it would be interesting to see it all go down through Edward's eyes, especially since I haven't done his POV in a while. The next chapter is going to be the camping chapter, and I'll try to get it done as fast as I can. It might be a little bit though, I have alot of plans coming up and things to do becuase my birthday was on saturday. It wont be that long though, I promise =]**

~Hannah


	25. Chapter 25: The Raccoons

**BPOV**

We let my Ipod blast through the speakers of Emmett's jeep as we made our way down the freeway.

The week had gone incredibly slow as we waited for this camping trip. I hadn't gone camping since my dad was alive, and it felt weird not having him come with us. He was the real outdoorsman of our family.

I reached across the seat divider to change the song. Edward and I were sitting in the back seats of Emmett's jeep, him and Rose in the front. Alice and Jasper were trailing behind us in Alice's car.

The ride was supposed to take 4 hours. At the rate that we were going, it seemed like it was going to take A LOT longer. I didn't realize that there could be so much traffic out in the middle of nowhere Washington. I asked Edward about it, but he said that it was a Friday night, and that we were near Seattle. This was a good explanation to me.

I settled on a song that I knew everyone would like, and leant my head on Edward's shoulder. He started to lip synch with it, and I stared at him in awe.

"You like Rock Kills Kid?" I asked with wonder. I didn't know of ANYONE that knew this band other than me. He looked at me like I was crazy.

"Of course I do! It's not like I live in a hole, Bella," he said with a small smile forming on his lips.

"You never cease to amaze me, Edward," I said, still staring at him. He started to laugh, and he pulled me closer to him.

We both started to sing along with the rest of the song.

_This feels like another dream_

_Trapped underneath my own routines_

_I tried to lift it off of me_

_I give up, I give up_

_I just sit and bleed_

_I'm paralyzed, I'm paralyzed_

_Stuck in the middle, and I'm paralyzed_

_Arms and legs in between_

_Cut inside a stupid dream_

_Look for her, but cannot see_

_I give up, I give up_

_There's no time to believe_

_I'm paralyzed, I'm paralyzed_

_Stuck in the middle and I'm paralyzed_

_I'm paralyzed, I'm paralyzed_

_The only way to come is to realize_

_This feels like another dream_

_Everyone grabbed a hold of me_

_Both from every side of me_

_I give up, I give up_

_There's nothing left of me_

_Arms and legs in between _

_Cut inside a stupid dream_

_Look for her but can't see_

_I give up, I give up_

_There's no time to believe_

_I'm paralyzed, I'm paralyzed_

_Stuck in the middle and I'm paralyzed_

_I'm paralyzed, I'm paralyzed_

_The only way to come is to realize_

_I'm paralyzed, I'm paralyzed_

_Stuck in the middle and I'm paralyzed_

_I'm paralyzed, I'm paralyzed_

_The only way to come is to realize_

_I'm paralyzed_

_Stuck in the middle and I'm paralyzed_

_I'm paralyzed_

_The only way to come is to realize_

Rose picked the next song for us, and we all started to talk.

I continued to look behind us at Alice's car, and every time I did, she would stick her tongue out at me from the driver's seat. I started to mess around with her, and I flipped her the bird. The look on her face was priceless.

"So Bella," Edward started to say. I looked at him while he continued. "Have you heard the new Franz Ferdinand?" he asked. I gave him an incredulous look.

"Edward," I laughed, "Of course I have! I was practically the first person in line at the store to buy it," I said. I gave him a look that was supposed to read 'shouldn't it be obvious?'

"I was just asking. It's really good," he said. I leaned back on his shoulder, and nodded.

"So what's the schedule going to be like later, big guy?" I asked him.

"Well, first we're going to get everything set up, and depending on how late it is after that, maybe check out the scenery," he said. That sounded like fun.

"I kind of want to have a campfire. I brought stuff for Smores and everything!" I said excitedly.

"YES! That's why we all love you, Bella," Emmett yelled out from the front. Rose turned around to look at me.

"Has he always been like this?" she asked. We turned to look back at Emmett, and sure enough, he was practically jumping out of his seat.

"Pretty much. Whenever you have chocolate around Emmett, hell ensues," I said with a laugh.

"It's just many of the things that we have in common!" she explained, and reached down for her purse.

I rolled my eyes when she pulled out a Hershey bar, and started to unwrap it. Emmett's mouth was practically watering when she finally got the wrapper off.

"I love you so much, Rose!" he proclaimed.

"Ditto. Now, eat your chocolate before I steal it back and eat it myself," she joked.

The rest of the ride went pretty fast. We found a radio station to listen to after everyone got sick of my Ipod, and I relaxed into Edward, who fell asleep on my shoulder.

Emmett had missed the turn that led to the campsite the first time we drove by it. Alice had to call us and ask where we were when we realized it. We turned back around and found the cutoff, and made our way down the dirt road.

We drove down this road for about 5 minutes when we finally got to the site. We could see Alice and Jasper parked by the side of the grounds, already pitching their tent. Alice ran up to greet us when we parked.

"Took you guys long enough," she said. "I'm glad that you finally found your way!"

"Hey, we made it, isn't that good enough?" Emmett whined. I rolled my eyes and laughed.

I jumped out of the car, letting Edward fall over onto the space where I was sitting. He woke up with a start, and shot me a look. I grinned, and started to laugh uncontrollably. He jumped out of the car next, and grabbed me around the waist, pulling me close to him.

"That was hilarious," he joked/whispered into my ear.

"Glad I wasn't the only one who thought so," I replied just as softly and seductively.

"Shall we get the tent pitched?" He asked into my ear again. I grinned. He was being so weird!

"We shall," I said back. Before I started to walk away towards the trunk, he kissed me hard on the mouth.

We stayed like this for about a minute, before Rose and Emmett both started to yell at us about how we had plenty of time to do that later.

Edward and I pulled away, and I headed over to the back of the car where everything was packed up.

Emmett was going through the trunk, found a large gray duffle-looking bag, and threw it at me. I realized that it was the tent when I caught it.

I ran over to meet Edward next to Alice and Jasper's tent. I threw the bag on the ground, and emptied it out. I grabbed the tarp, and laid it down, fastening it to the ground securely. Edward decided that he wanted to do the rest, against my better judgment. I let him, though. He was just trying to be chalant.

I watched Edward pitch our tent with my mouth wide open. It wasn't hard to guess that he had experienced going camping before, because he got the tent up in about 2 minutes, with no help whatsoever.

When he was done, he walked over to me and snaked his arms around my waist, planting a kiss on my forehead.

"Showoff," I muttered. He chuckled and led me over to the fire pit where everyone else was sitting.

Alice was sitting next to Jasper. She was spraying bug repellant on herself, and Jasper was coughing. I guessed that Alice had put too much on.

I asked where Emmett and Rose were, and Alice shrugged. I looked around, and saw that Emmett and Rose were still pitching their tent.

It was starting to get dark, so I ran over to the side of the woods to grab some sticks to use as firewood. Edward walked over to the car to grab some newspaper to act as a starter, and I took out a pack of matches from my pocket. Together we built a nice sized fire, good enough for a few hours at least, as long as it is well fed.

I got out a grill cage, and set it up over the fire. Thankfully I had remembered to bring a pot to make food in. I brought about 15 packets of Ramen Noodles to keep everyone from starving from anything other than Smores. Edward seemed to be happy about this, and so was I of course.

I filled the pot with some water that we brought, and let it boil over the fire. Edward called his parents to let them know that we had all gotten there safely while I continued to make dinner for everyone.

Emmett called our mom when he was done with his and Rose's tent to do the same.

Our mother had gone back to Evanston for the weekend so that she could see the rest of our family and have someone there while Emmett and I were camping. We offered to stay home with her, but she refused, saying that she needed to go back to Illinois anyways. She didn't want to keep us from having fun.

We found that her flight had gotten about 3 hours prior to our call. She was at Aunt Jodie's house, and they were going to go out to dinner after she got settled.

We hung up when the noodles were ready. Everyone got a bowl, and I served them all good sized helpings.

The dinner was fast. We all decided to go on a hike afterwards, so Edward and I put out the fire and grabbed our flashlights from out of the car.

We followed a trail that was just off the camp site, and took in the amazing wilderness that surrounded us. Edward wrapped his arm around me as we walked, which was a good thing because I was likely to trip on something. I held close to him.

Alice and Jasper were playing around in front of us, chasing each other and enjoying each other's company. Alice jumped on his back, and he proceeded to give her a piggy back ride. It was a funny sight.

Emmett and Rose walked next to Edward and I, and we all started to talk. We planned out our day for tomorrow, and decided that we were going to all sleep out under the stars tomorrow night. It was something that I was very much looking forward to.

The trail led in a huge circle, cutting back into the dirt road that we took to get to the site. We turned at the fork, and head back to the campground. We made it back in about 10 minutes.

I checked my watch and saw that it was 9. We had a big day ahead of us tomorrow, so Edward and I decided to turn in for the night. Everyone else got the fire started again, and they were hanging out around it.

I changed quickly into my pajamas, and slid on some thick socks and a sweater just in case I got cold. That wasn't very likely though, because Edward was going to be snuggled up to me during the night and he's always warm.

The trip was really letting me get my mind off of the events of the last week. It was relaxing to know that I was free out here, and that I had no responsibility. Also, I felt that it was a chance for me to get to learn more stuff about Edward.

Edward blew up the air mattress with the electric pump, and I dressed it with sheets and blankets and such.

Edward crawled into bed first while I put the pump away, and I snuggled in close to him. It was really cozy.

I fell asleep to the sound of everyone's laughter outside the tent.

I woke up the next morning to screaming and a large crash. Edward shot up right before me, and looked down with horror in his eyes.

We both jumped up and ran outside the tent to find Alice's car crashed in to a tree.

I yelled for Rose and Emmett to get up, and they quickly emerged from their tent.

We all ran over to the car to find Alice and Jasper sitting in the driver and passenger seats. Alice was screaming and thrashing around, and Jasper was trying to calm her down.

I created blockers out of my hands, and pressed my face against the tinted windows to look inside the back of the car. What I saw made me gasp.

There was a family of raccoons nested in the back of her car, and they were going crazy because of the screaming.

Edward ran around to the other side of the car, and opened Alice's door. He pulled her outside, and laid her on the ground. Alice was cradling her arm, and wincing, but I wasn't able to pay too much attention to her. Jasper opened his door next, and climbed outside, slamming the door shut behind him, and shivering out of disgust.

I told Emmett about the raccoons, and he burst out laughing. He told Rose, and she rolled her eyes.

She walked over to the back of the car, and opened the door. She picked up a stick that was on the ground, and started to force the family of raccoons out of the car.

Her strategy was effective, because the next thing we knew, the raccoons had run out of the car and into the woods.

It all happened so fast, and when it stopped, Emmett wasn't the only one laughing. I walked over to him, and together we started to roll around the ground laughing. Alice sent us death glares from where she was sitting, and Edward was chuckling with Jasper. Rose was shaking her head with a little grin on her face, but her grin diminished when she saw the state of Alice's car.

The windshield had a nice sized crack running through it, and the trees had broken both headlights. There were huge dents on the outer shell of the car, and two of the wheels were flat. The security alarm was blaring full blast, and all of the airbags were out. I stopped laughing when I saw the look on Alice's face as she took in what happened to her car.

"They came out of nowhere…" she started to say. "I didn't even know they were there until it bit me…"she murmured, looking down at a huge gash on her arm.

I ran over to her immediately, and took in her cut. She had been bitten by one of the raccoons.

I guessed that next she had gone into a state of shock. She just stared out at the car, and didn't say anything. Edward ran over to us, picked her up, and ran her over to the camp fire, beckoning for me to grab a first aid kit.

I ran to Emmett's car, and grabbed the small square box from the trunk. Jasper, Rose and Emmett were over at her car, inspecting the damage. Jasper called for a tow truck.

I gave Edward the kit, and he opened it. He took out some liquid, and a huge gauze bandage. I was guessing that the liquid was some sort of alcohol to clean the wound, because Alice winced when he started to help her. Jasper ran over to us after seeing her injury with a sullen look on his face.

"I'm so sorry, Alice," he said. She looked up at him and shrugged right when Edward had secured the gauze. Jasper pulled her into a hug, being careful to mind her bite, and Edward and I turned away from them.

"What a way to start a morning," I said. He just chuckled, and pulled me into a hug. "I guess I have to call my mom and dad about this," he sighed. I stepped away from him so that he could run back to the tent to get his phone, and I followed him.

"Hey mom, Okay, so look. Alice and Jasper were going to go for a drive, and a family of raccoons had gotten into the car while we were sleeping. Anyways, long story short, Alice got bitten by one of them, and she freaked out and crashed the car," he said.

He had to pull the phone away from his ear the next moment, because Esme was yelling out into the receiver asking questions about if she was alright, where she was, and what the damage on the car was.

"Mom, mom, quiet down. Let me talk. The bite is pretty bad, and we need to get her to a hospital for a Rabies check. The car needs to be towed."

I walked over to Alice and Jasper again so that I could see how she was doing. The tow truck had arrived, and Rose and Emmett were sorting things out with the driver.

Edward emerged from the tent, and ran his hands through his hair.

"We have to get Alice to a hospital. I'm going to call my mom when we get there so that she can meet us. My dad is still at work," he told me. I gave him a hug. He looked like he needed it.

Alice didn't have Rabies, thankfully. We had gotten everything packed up fast, and we were able to leave in a hurry.

We met Esme and Rene at the Hospital, and after Alice was looked at, we all went home.

I sat down on my bed, and pulled out some study materials. Finals started Wednesday; it was Saturday afternoon.

Edward told me that he would come over later, so I left the window open for him.

Rose was over at her house, keeping Jasper Company. He was lucky, and came out of the car unscathed, but the doctors told him to take it easy for a few days.

Right when I had reached down to start studying, I heard a creaking noise come from the window as Edward crawled in.

"I don't know why you have to insist on coming in that way," I told him. "We do have a door".

"Ah, Bella, where's the fun in that?" he asked, pulling me into a hug.

"How's Alice?" I asked into his shirt.

"She's fine. She's taking a nap right now, getting a little rest. It's been a long day for all of us," he told me with his eyes clothes.

"Stay here tonight," I said. He nodded.

The rest of the day was quiet and relaxed, and when Edward and I first felt the weary drag of fatigue, neither of us fought it.

**A/N:**

**DON'T KILL ME! I've been in Florida for the last week, and wasn't able to post this any sooner. I know it seems that I've been slacking a bit, and for that I deeply apologize. **

**Is it just me or is there now alot of drama going on with this story? First the whole Rene/Phil deal, now Alice getting bit by raccoons? What the hell was I thinking? I just wanted to add something else to keep you guys interested in the story. There will be much more drama to come, I promise. **

**The next chapter will not take a month to get up. I promise. No....I pinky promise. ;)**

**The song is called Paralyzed by Rock Kills Kid. **


	26. Chapter 26: Finally!

**EPOV**

Tonight was graduation.

In a matter of hours, Emmett, Rose and Jasper would graduate high school.

Alice had her car repaired, and I had just dropped her off at the mechanic's so that she could pick it up.

I stopped in front of the school so that I could pick Bella up and take her out to lunch. She was just finishing up her last final.

Finals went strangely well. Bella and I had crammed our brains to the brim, and that really paid off. I had my last one this morning, so I got to leave early. Sadly, Bella had her last one in the last testing period, so she had to stay.

I parked in my usual space, and waited until the last of the tests were dismissed.

After about 15 minutes of waiting, Bella skipped to my car and got in. From the passenger seat she gave me a huge hug and kiss on the cheek, and we headed to Port Angeles for lunch.

We couldn't spend too much time there, because we had to get back in time to go with our families to the ceremony. The seniors had their finals earlier in the week, so they didn't have to go to school today. Alice had the same testing schedule as me, so that's why I was able to drive her to the mechanics after the test.

I parked in a public parking garage near the restaurant. It was a bright and sunny day, so I put on some sunglasses and led Bella outside. We walked around for a bit, taking the scenic route to the restaurant.

We stopped at a small music store that I almost never go to anymore. It was filled with vintage vinyl records, cds, posters, pretty much everything that had to do with music.

I began to rummage through some of the older Pink Floyd vinyl albums while Bella looked at the posters.

Bella ended up buying a Clash poster, and I left with a new copy of Dark Side of the Moon on Vinyl. Mine had been used so much that it got worn out and I had to toss it. I was happy that I was able to get another.

We left to the restaurant when we left the music store.

When we were seated, the waitress came over to take our orders. In the middle of my order, Bella's phone began to ring. She answered it after ordering her food, and I started to play with her hands while she talked. Her face fell a little while she was talking, and my hands froze. Was something wrong?

"No, it's fine mom. I guess I need to meet him anyways, right?" she asked with a little chuckle. Her face fell even more. She nodded something, and wished her mother goodbye.

I looked at her, silently asking her to tell me what happened.

"Phil is coming tonight," she stated blankly.

Our drinks had come at this point, so she took a long sip.

"I'm sorry, Bella. Do you not want to meet him? I'll be with you the whole time, so I'll be there to comfort you. Don't worry," I said, trying to get her to relax a little.

"No, no, I do want to meet him. It's just…he was the reason that my mom was in the Coma. I mean, it wasn't his fault, but I have a feeling that things are going to be changing drastically when I meet him," she confided.

"Nothing will change. The only thing that will happen is that you'll probably be seeing him around your house a lot, and your mom will be out with him more. That just means that we will have more time to be alone!" I said, trying to cheer her up. She smiled at me, and looked up at me through her lashes.

"Edward, I don't know what I would do without you," she said. She reached out for my hand from across the table, and held it in hers.

Our food came, and we ate while conversing about finals, summer plans, things that we wanted to do with everyone before they left.

We finished our meal, I paid the bill, and we were out the door. It had gotten a little chilly, so I took off the hoodie that I was wearing and gave it to Bella. She put it on, and leaned into me as we walked.

The car ride was pleasant. Bella popped my Tom Petty CD into the player, and we listened to that the entire way home.

I parked my car outside of my house, and I walked to Bella's house with her.

We walked up to her room, and I sat on the bed while she looked through her closet to find something to wear for tonight.

I helped her decide on some nice gray skinny jeans with a turquoise blouse that fit her like a glove. She quickly got changed, and we decided to head over to my house to see Alice.

Alice was wearing a violet satin summer dress with a black sash running across her stomach. She had black ballet flats on, and she spun around when she saw us, showing off her outfit.

"Bella! You look great! I guess this means that I really AM rubbing off on you, doesn't it?" she asked, giving Bella a hug.

We hung out in our living room for a while, waiting for Jasper, Rose and Emmett to get back from a graduation party that they were all invited to. My dad came home early from the hospital, and my mom was all ready to go when Phil was to arrive. We were all going to go over and meet him together.

**BPOV**

My mother wasn't home when we got there, so I guessed that she was out with him. Ever since she got back from the hospital, she has been extremely happy. If I couldn't call that resilience, I don't know what it is.

I guess all it took my mother to open up to the idea of us moving on from my dad was a three week coma caused by a new boyfriend. I was glad that she was finally moving on though, because before Phil came along, she was always lonely and depressed. I guess he's giving her more vitality, and for that I am amazingly grateful to him. I was still extremely nervous in meeting him, though.

Jasper, Rose and Emmett came over after they were ready to go. They were wearing their gowns, holding their caps in their hands. The gowns were a weird mustard yellow color, as were the caps. The sash on the caps were navy blue.

We were all sitting in the living room, waiting for my mother. After what seemed like an hour of waiting, there was finally a knock on the front door.

Emmett and I rose from our seats, and headed to the door. With a shaky hand, I turned the doorknob and opened the door.

There stood my mother, and next to her was Phil.

Phil was smiling daggers at us, which was a little welcoming. I smiled back, and Emmett shook his hand.

"Emmett," Phil said.

"Phil," replied Emmett.

Phil was a little taller than my mom. He was wearing a nice, clean gray suit and shiny black dress shoes. He had short brown hair, and a round face. He was very homey looking, and the look in his eyes gave off a very warm vibe. He was nice looking.

My mother smiled nervously, and looked up at him. He put an arm around her, and I let them come inside.

Edward got up and walked over to us. I introduced him to Phil, and Emmett introduced him to everyone else.

I reached down to hold Edward's hand. He gave it a little squeeze.

As we were all walking out of the house, a thought dawned on me.

Everyone in my life was happy. Everyone was in love, and everyone was here with me.

I looked over at all the happy couples that I was with. Emmett and Rose looked scared to death, but they had each other, which gave them also a look of being comforted.

My mother was probably the happiest of all. We had accepted Phil, which she had been frightened about.

My father would be proud of us. His wife had moved on and found someone else that she loved, and his only son was graduating high school with his beautiful girlfriend.

I looked over at Edward, who was talking with Alice and Jasper. Jasper had his arm around Alice, and Alice had a smile plastered on her face that could blind someone.

Me on the other hand, I was content. I was holding hands with the love of my life, and everything that was wrong in my life had turned out for the better.

I knew who was responsible for this.

The person that helped me through the toughest times in my life.

The person that showed me that love was possible, and that sadness and grief were terrible things to hold onto.

The person that set me free.

This person was the spectacular boy next door.

The boy next door with the deep green eyes that I would get lost in if I didn't hold onto something.

The boy next door with the amazing perfect tousled bronze hair.

The boy next door that was a god on earth.

And he was mine.

All mine.

End.

**A/N:**

**Finally! I knew that I had to end the story soon, becuase I was running out of ideas, and it had already lasted 25 chapters. I'm working on other stories at the moment, stories that i will put up soon. They just need a little more editing.  
**

**I would like to take this time right now to thank the great reviewers that have been following this story since the very beginning. Thanks you guys! Without you, I wouldn't have gotten the movtivation that I needed to get to this point. **

**There will be an epilogue. I'll post it as a one shot sometime in the near future, so keep posted! **

**I love all of you !**

**And here ends my first full length fanfiction. Looking back I noticed some mistakes, mistakes that I will be careful about not making in my future works. And just saying, there WILL be future works. I have lots of ideas, and if your interested in finding out about what I have in store, just shoot me a PM or a review, and i'll give you a little heads up =]**

**Again, thanks to everyone that supported me with this. **

**~Hannah~**


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